Silver Lining
by The Angel In Black
Summary: In one night, the lives of Nora and Clary Fray changed forever. With their mother's sudden disappearance and the knowledge that their whole lives had been built over a huge lie to grant them protection, they needed to adapt to their new home and their new people.
1. Birthday Gifts

Simon's leg shook uncontrollably and his fingers wouldn't stop tapping on the table, which caused Nora to roll her eyes and glance away from her best friend before she felt the urge to smack him hard. If there was one thing she had come to realize over the years of knowing Simon, it was the fact that his love for her twin sister was never going to be reciprocal, which was an absolute shame. "Would you quit doing that, please? You're starting to annoy me, Simon." The poor boy was starting to go mad while they waited for news from Clary. "Look, I know you love her, but you need to calm down, alright? She's going to be fine, you know her. She'll get in with ease."

Somehow, he stopped listening to her after she mentioned the love part and gave her a blank look. "I don't love Clary, okay? Stop saying that, Nora."

Nora smiled sweetly before taking a sip of her own coffee, but he knew better than to buy that, especially from her. "Oh, Simon, Simon... and you still think you can fool me. You're cute." Simon offered her a nervous grin and shrugged it off. "Look, there's no point in lying to me, you should know that by now. Come on, we've known each other our whole lives! Did you honestly think that I wouldn't notice it?"

"Okay, you know about that, but so what? It's _never_ going to work between Clary and I. We've been best friends since forever, remember? I've been buried deep inside the friendzone. I'll never make it out." Simon fixed his glasses and glanced down at his restless hands. He needed to do something to calm those nerves of his, or at least to distract himself.

For the first time in her life, Nora had no valid argument to present him with, and it nearly hurt her. "I don't know how to respond to that, I'm sorry."

"It's true, though. You know it. She will never see me as anything more than her best friend."

Nora looked away from him, closing her blue eyes for a short moment. She was somewhat torn between crushing his hopes and dreams, and encouraging him to pursue her twin sister. Still, she knew that if he tried to win Clary's heart, he would break his own, and she didn't want to watch him suffer through that, plus ruining his friendship with her redhead sister. "I'm sorry, honey. I wish things were different between you two. I guess it must be hard to be in love with your best friend."

"Speaking of said best friend, zip it. Clary's arrived and she's coming over here right now."

"Duly noted, my friend."

Nora looked over her shoulder and saw her twin sister making her way towards them, her sketch book in hands and a sad frown on her pretty face. Knowing Clary, she was quite aware that she was faking that sadness, so she remained silent and watched her sister as she took a seat next to Simon. "Give me the professors' names and I will end them..." Simon trailed off once he noticed the pointed look on Clary's face. "You know, with a scathing e-mail to the dean!"

"Don't bother."

Clary threw a letter onto the table and Simon picked it up while Nora watched the scene through amused eyes. It was actually funny to see how he still fell for that. After all, it was obvious that Clary had been accepted into the art academy. "What?" Simon exclaimed, almost dazed. Clary and Nora chuckled together before they hugged each other. "Sad face, really? Well played, well played!"

"Seriously, Simon! I can't believe you actually fell for that. I knew Clary had gotten in from the second she walked into Java Jones." Nora commented, leaning back against her chair with a satisfied smile. "Shame on you."

"You knew it because you guys are twins, it's your thing! I couldn't have guessed it." Simon shot back, taking a sip of his own coffee before turning to look at Clary. "Anyway, congrats, friend! I knew you would get in."

"Thank you." Clary smiled, clearly proud of herself. "You know, it's weird. They kind of liked my assigned work, but they flipped out over the drawings for our graphic novel."

"Well, they look pretty cool, if you ask me." Nora countered as her bright, blue eyes studied the drawings with great care.

"I know, right? You're welcome." Simon laughed, a beaming smile on his handsome face.

It made Nora so proud and happy to see the radiant grin on her twin sister's face. She knew how talented she was, and she deserved it more than anyone. "This day will go down in history as the greatest eighteenth birthday we have ever had!"

"Which is why we are celebrating tonight!" Simon stated, never taking his eyes off of Clary. Maybe she didn't notice it, but it was practically evident - at least to Nora, it was - that the boy was head over heels for the redhead twin and there was no way he could deny it. "Yes, with Maureen, after our show. And Nora, you are obviously invited. Not like it wasn't implied before, but you know-"

"Absolutely." Nora cut him off, patting his shoulder to make sure he kept his mouth shut before something daft poured out.

Clary chuckled at the interaction between them before she mumbled a 'thank you' to the waitress who brought her latte and the biscotti she had ordered before joining her twin sister and their best friend. "So, what's the deal with you and Maureen?"

"What deal? No deal! We sing together." Simon answered, clearly nervous and confused.

Clary appeared to be astounded by his response, while Nora just shrugged it off. Even if it was true, he wouldn't be able to notice any other girl while he was crushing so incredibly hard on Clary Fray. "You seriously don't know she's been crushing on you this whole time?"

"What? No! No."

"You men truly are blind, aren't you?" Nora inquired, arching her delicate eyebrows in wonder.

"I know, right?" Clary agreed with her twin sister, never tearing her eyes away from Simon. "I mean, how can someone as smart and perceptive as you not realize that the person sitting right there is in love with you?"

Simon snorted at that. Clary obviously had no idea of what she was talking about, that much he could tell only by the way she looked at him. She truly didn't have a clue. "I guarantee you I'm not the only smart, perceptive person to make that mistake."

"Shots fired." Nora mumbled to herself, rolling her eyes rather dramatically. Clary didn't take the hint, but Nora immediately understood what he meant by saying that. It almost broke her heart to see that Clary was so oblivious to Simon's feelings towards her. The redhead glanced down and frowned, appearing to be perplexed by the fact that her biscotti had disappeared. "That's a latte." Simon pointed out, more than happy to find a change of subject.

"But I could have sworn I had a biscotti."

"Maybe you ate it really fast and didn't even notice." Simon suggested, raising both his hands to show her that he truly had no idea.

"Is that really a thing? Does it happen?" Nora asked him, placing her hand beneath her chin with a bored huff.

"Well, it happens to me all the time. When I'm happy, when I'm sad..." Simon grinned genuinely when he saw that he was able to make the two girls laugh because of him. Despite the fact that they had come into this world together and were still considered twins, Nora and Clary had nothing to do with each other. Maybe their facial expressions and some other features were indubitably alike, but where Nora had bright, blonde hair and deep blue eyes, Clary had long red curls and green orbs. Still, no one questioned them about being twins because, even though they were utterly different, they could always feel each other. When one was in pain, the other was in affliction and aching to help the troubled twin. When one was beaming with joy, the other was just the same. No one could ever deny their evident sisterly bond. "Anyway, I will replace your mythical biscotti with an actual one!"

"Thank you!"

"You know what? Here's to you two!" Simon raised his cup and the twins did the same thing, the sound of their cups clinking together making Nora smile softly.

"L'chaim!"

* * *

After having lunch with Simon, the two girls headed out to go to the antique shop that their mother owned. It was placed right underneath their apartment. Nora and Clary were both turning eighteen in that day, but the blonde twin couldn't help but harbor a strange feeling, as if something bad was going to happen soon. Whether it was to her or her family, she didn't know, but she could sense it, unlike Clary, who was overflowing with pure happiness. Despite carrying that strange feeling inside her, Nora decided to remain silent about it, so she wouldn't ruin it for them. After all, it was supposed to be their happy day.

Nora and Clary stepped into the antique shop and found Dot leaning against the counter, her dark brown eyes glued to her tarot cards. "Well, hi, Dot!" Nora greeted cheerfully, rushing towards the older woman to give her a quick hug. "Can you tell me how my future's looking? Is it too bright? How rich am I going to be? Do you see me with a handsome gentleman?"

"As if you needed the tarot cards to know that the last one is granted." Clary countered, laughing at her twin sister.

"Well, one might never know!" Nora shot back, rolling her eyes. Then, she turned around to look at Dot and smiled kindly. "I was joking anyway. How's your day, Dot?"

"My day? It's not as good as yours and Clary's, now is it?" Dot winked at the blonde twin and both shared a proud smile. "You see, the tarot cards tell me you got into the advanced programme."

"And by 'the tarot cards' you mean Simon's twitter account?" Clary guessed, putting on a thoughtful expression.

"Okay, I follow him!" Dot confessed, looking almost guilty. "Turns out, predicting the future with tarot cards is very complicated. But, I do see birthday presents in both your futures, young ladies." Having said that, Dot bent down and picked up two bags. She placed them in front of the twins and clapped her hands. "Open them!"

"Dot, you didn't have to!" Nora exclaimed after she let out a surprised gasp.

"But I wanted to, so open it!"

"Wow!" The twins sighed nearly at the same time. Nora pulled out her new black leather jacket and choked on her own words. She was somewhere between being utterly amazed by the fantastic piece of clothing and horrified by the amount of money Dot must have spent in that jacket. Clary's new blouse was black as well, and from what Nora had gathered, it appeared to be quite revealing. Of course she would have to borrow it from time to time, she thought to herself with a sly smirk.

"Okay, guys, you might wanna keep that on the DL, because your mom's my boss and I don't want her to flip out."

"Yeah, but that's how we know it's cool." Clary pointed out. "You know, you're way better at gift-giving than magically predicting the future."

"Nothing magical about it. I just buy the things I wanna wear."

"And then you give them to us. How kind!" Nora chuckled, hugging Dot close to her once again. "Thank you for this. I love it."

"Happy birthday, girls."

"Thank you!" The twins replied at the same time, which caused the both of them to look at each other with evident fondness.

"I love you, girls."

"Dot, we love you too." Nora answered, patting the older woman's back with obvious gentleness to make sure she understood that. "But are you okay?"

"Yeah, Dot, you don't seem very well." Clary pointed out, lifting a delicate eyebrow in preoccupation.

"I'm fine, girls, seriously! Now, go up and see your mom!"

"And so we shall, my lady." Nora saluted in a joking manner, letting out a soft chuckle. "Thank you, again."

Dot nodded reassuringly and smiled brightly, her dark brown eyes following the girls as they went upstairs. When they disappeared from view, the brunette woman sighed deeply and eyed the tarot cards, especially the one with the Cup in it. Their lives would take a very different turn after that day, and it scared her immensely. Dot was not sure if Nora and Clary were ready to know the whole truth about their family's true identity. Unfortunately, she had grown very fond of the twins and their mother, and she would certainly put her life at risk only to protect them.

Jocelyn was standing by the window of their apartment with a basket of laundry in hands, her deep green eyes fixated on a small point, when her children entered the living room, laughing and talking among themselves. Although she was worried sick, she still mustered up an excited grin when she saw her two beautiful daughters. "Mom!" Nora exclaimed, rushing over to her mother to throw her arms around her. Jocelyn laughed and whispered 'happy birthday' before turning to see Clary, who wore a small smile on her pink lips.

"You did it! Yay!"

Clary approached Jocelyn and, much like Nora had done moments earlier, she threw her arms around their mother. "You also follow Simon?"

"He only has ninety-two followers. He needs the retweets!" Jocelyn exclaimed, grinning widely as she saw the amused expressions on both her daughters' faces. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you! Hashtag, stalker mom." Clary countered with a soft chuckle. Nora sank down on their couch and groaned with mere satisfaction. Her feet hurt pretty badly from walking in high heels, and she was simply tired. Nora and Clary weren't different only physically. Their tastes in music, art and clothes were also quite distinct. While Clary enjoyed her regular clothes and actually went unnoticed most of the time, Nora loved tight dresses and leather, high heels and black clothes in general. Jocelyn had always told her blonde daughter how even the cheapest piece of clothing complimented her figure, and she knew it for certain. Clary was very well-built as well, but Nora had more curves on her body, and that had never been a secret to neither of them. It didn't matter how different they were. It seemed that they completed each other like that.

Jocelyn whirled around and picked up their presents, handing them to Nora and Clary before taking a seat between the twins. "Happy birthday, girls." Quickly, the two girls opened their presents, which appeared to be exactly identical. Nora picked up the strange object and eyed it with curious eyes, wondering exactly what it was. "It's called a stele."

"Well, that just makes so much more sense now, mom." Nora countered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Jocelyn sent her a pointed look and shook her head, still smiling at her. "But thank you so much."

"What is it, like, a paperweight?" Clary inquired, looking somewhat confused.

"No, it's much more than that. They're very ancient. I want you two to have them." Jocelyn explained, watching her two daughters through worried eyes. Clary was too fascinated by her present to even look up at their mother, but Nora noticed something odd about her expression. The way Dot and Jocelyn acted around them made her feel even more suspicious and scared. Something bad was going to happen. "It's a family heirloom."

"We Frays have heirlooms?" Clary laughed, somehow oblivious to her mother's strange behavior.

"A few."

Clary ran her finger across the carving on the stele, frowning in mere confusion. "You know, it's weird. I doodled something that looked like this, this morning. I must have seen this around the house somewhere."

Before Jocelyn could even pronounce another word, Nora's phone beeped, and she checked the message. It was Simon, reminding them about the concert that would take place later that evening. The blonde twin took off her high heels and grabbed her shoes, jumping away from the couch. "It's Simon. He's on his way over."

"But we need to talk." Jocelyn said suddenly, her voice was clearly on edge.

"Mom, we can't right now. I still have to help Clary getting ready, because you know that I have a much better taste than she has."

"Yeah, right, keep dreaming!" Clary rolled her eyes but smiled nevertheless. "Look, we're going to see Champagne Enema tonight." Jocelyn cocked an eyebrow in question, crossing her arms over her chest in an almost authoritarian manner. "Yeah, I know, it's the new band name."

"Besides, Simon and Maureen are taking us out after." Nora added, grabbing her bags to take them to her bedroom.

"But it's your eighteenth birthday, Nora, Clary! Everything's gonna change for you two now."

"Really? How so? I may be eighteen now, but I don't feel any different." Nora shot back, placing her free hand over her hip. "Mom, is this about _the_ talk?"

"Come on, mom, we've had the talk!" Clary whined, throwing her head back and closing her eyes to maintain calm. "We're good here!"

"We need to have a much different and more important talk."

"And we will, we swear! But can it be over breakfast, please?" Nora questioned, offering her mother a very reassuring grin.

Jocelyn tried to smile, but she couldn't. She was too worried about her two daughters to even mask it. Clary planted a small kiss onto the older woman's forehead before turning around to start making her way into her bedroom. "Thank you for the heirloom, I love you!"

" _We_ love you." Nora corrected, following behind her twin sister. "And thank you!"

* * *

After the show, Clary and Nora helped Simon and Maureen loading up the truck. Usually, Nora wasn't a big fan of calm songs, but 'Forever Young' had a lovely ring to it, and she actually enjoyed it. Their gig wasn't so bad, she had decided, but they definitely needed to have more presence in stage if they wanted to be recognized. Still, the evening was going smoothly, and Nora was enjoying every single moment of it. While Clary had decided to wear a green jacket over the new blouse that Dot had offered her because she considered it a little too revealing for her own liking, Nora decided to wear a black dress that hugged her curves wonderfully. Of course she was also wearing the black leather jacket that Dot had offered her. She was all in black, which to her, it was simply perfection.

"Guys, thank you for being our roadies." Maureen said, moving to open the truck doors.

"Yeah, and thank you, Clary, for being our artist in residence." Simon added, pulling his shirt over his head before pausing to think about something else. "Nora, thank you for... the encouragement. It was really needed, seriously."

"Of course." The twins replied at the exact same time.

"That was creepy." Maureen commented, frowning in confusion.

"Oh, don't worry. After a while you get used to it." Simon informed her, putting on a clean shirt. "It's their thing."

"Yeah, you could say that."

"So, you went on stage tonight as Champagne Enema?" Clary asked with an amused smirk.

Simon and Maureen glanced at each other and shared a laugh, while Clary and Nora observed them with curious smiles. "What were we thinking, right?"

"But now we're Rock Solid Panda."

"Yeah, we are."

"Oh, God. Please, Maureen, tell me you didn't come up with that name." Nora chuckled, placing both her hands on her hips.

"No, but Simon did."

"Always the inventive one, aren't you?"

"What can I say? I have an eye for this kind of thing."

"Clearly you do." Clary chimed in, grabbing a can of paint. "Rock Solid Panda, coming right up! I'm feeling inspired!"

Nora ignored them completely as she took a few steps towards Pandemonium, the night club. It was strange how the lights kept on flashing the 'demon' part, and maybe even a little bit eery, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from it. Nora stopped listening to her friends and focused on the sign, feeling almost drawn to it. It was as if something was begging her to come inside. For a moment there, Nora thought that it was only her desire to be in a wild party, but then she sensed something entirely different. There was danger lurking around them. There were things that most humans couldn't possibly see, no matter how hard they tried.

A blonde guy suddenly bumped against Nora, and that seemed to be more than enough for her to snap out of it and act quickly. "Hey, watch it, you asshole! If you had put a little more strength in it, you would've dragged me with you!"

Her voice clearly made him stop in his tracks. "You can see me?"

Clary saw the interaction between her twin sister and the handsome stranger and decided to join her side, just in case. "What seems to be the problem here?"

"This guy." Nora responded with an arrogant tone. "Goldilocks, or Blondie, over here just crashed against me, that's all."

"Wait, you can see me too?" He asked, apparently not expecting that.

Clary snorted and rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, that's kind of the point, but you obviously didn't see my sister."

"You two have the Sight." He realized, watching them rather intently.

"Wait, the what?"

"How can I not know who you are?"

Nora chuckled at his question, while Clary appeared to be somewhat offended. "Has that line seriously ever worked for you? Even once?"

Jace Wayland was more confused than ever. How could this be? These two mundane girls could see him, for some unknown reason. If they were like him, then how come he had never even heard about them? Sisters, for that matter! He frowned and took a step back when he heard Alec calling his name. This wasn't over. He was going to find out more about those two. With that in mind, Jace ran after his best friend and left them standing there, their eyes trailing over the path he had taken.

Only then did Nora throw her arms around her sister's neck and let out a loud chuckle, shaking her head in amusement. "Clary, you totally slayed that guy."

The twins approached a very horrified Simon and a somewhat puzzled Maureen. "Can you guys believe that blonde dude?"

"You mean the imaginary dude you were talking to?" Simon inquired, rubbing the back of his head with uncertainty.

"No, the guy right there, running into the club." Clary responded, pointing towards the path that the blonde boy had taken seconds earlier. Nora saw him and two others entering the club, one was a raven-haired boy and the other one appeared to be a girl with platinum hair, almost white. What the hell was going on that night?

"Clary, Nora, there's nobody there." Maureen informed them, deep down thinking that they had definitely gone insane.

"The guy covered in tats, like-"

"What guy are you two talking about?"

"Are you serious about this? How come you didn't see him?" Nora snapped at them, throwing her hands in the air. "We're not crazy, alright?"

"Yeah, I mean, could you stop making me feel insane?" Clary added, also quite frustrated because of the whole situation.

"Could you two stop acting that way?" Maureen shot back.

Simon's eyes widened at that. What was wrong with them? "Clary, what was in your latte? And you, Nora, are you on drugs or something?"

"Excuse me? Drugs?" Nora shouted, clearly offended by his suggestion. "Do I look like someone who's been doing drugs? Wait, don't even answer my question!" She huffed and took off her leather jacket, throwing it inside the truck. She whirled around and ran towards Pandemonium to get some answers. Seconds later, Clary chased after her twin sister and didn't even look back when Simon and Maureen called their names.

"What the hell, guys? Remember, your fake IDs suck!"

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Shadowhunters, The Mortal Instruments or any of its characters. I only own my OC, Nora Fray, who is portrayed by Indiana Evans.**

 **Author's Note: Hello, everyone! So, this was the first chapter! I hope you guys liked it! Let me know what you think about Nora Fray and her interactions with the other characters, alright? Reviews are more than welcome! By the way, I'm not sure when I will be able to update this story again, but I'll try to make it as soon as possible. Enjoy!**


	2. Running Scared

"Now, _this_ is what I'm talking about, Clary!" Nora pulled her twin sister closer to her and started dancing slowly, an excited smirk spreading across her red lips. Clary, on the other hand, didn't seem too comfortable about showing off her dancing skills in front of so many people, especially in the way that her sister did it. Nora didn't seem to care about what other people thought about her, she just wanted to have a good time. She threw her hands up in the air and whistled, laughing loudly. " _This_ is a party!"

"Remember why we came here, Nora! Focus!" Clary practically had to scream in her blonde sister's ears to make her listen to reason. The redhead took hold of Nora's soft hand and dragged her along with her, her bright green eyes searching for the blonde guy that they had seen outside Pandemonium. "I can't find that dude anymore! Can you even see him in this crowd or something?"

Nora pushed Clary out of the way and analyzed the whole place with great care. It took her a few moments to find him, but she saw a blonde head making its way towards a restricted area that was being covered by long curtains. He was accompanied by the same raven-haired boy and the same girl with the white wig that she had seen running outside the club. "I've got eyes on him, and his friends. Come on. Let's talk to them and get the answers we need." Clary allowed Nora to lead the way, but they were stopped by Simon and Maureen. It seemed that they had followed the twins inside to make sure they didn't cause any sort of problem.

"Nora! Clary!"

The sisters whirled around and both shared the same annoyed expression. "Guys, we're in! Do you want something? I'm gonna go fail at getting us some birthday drinks! You two stay here and wait for us, alright?"

Clary and Nora shared a devious smile and nodded dutifully, waiting until they turned their backs on them. Nora grasped Clary's hand and pulled her along with her. It was hard to push through all of those people, and some of them even glared sharply at the two girls, but Nora was too focused on the raven-haired boy and his lady friend with the white wig to even care about anything else on their way. She knew that Clary wanted to talk to Blondie and come clean about some of the things he had told them, but Nora's eyes were glued to something else, something so much more appealing. Clary and her twin sister continued running until they were standing right in front of the closed curtains. They stopped and glanced around, looking for someone to help them getting through without being questioned. "I don't know about you, but the way things are going right now, it seems to me that we're dealing with some kind of drug trade or some other crap like that! If we go in there, we might get killed!" Clary warned her blonde sister, who wanted nothing more than to get inside and find out what the hell was happening in there.

"I'm going in, Clary." Nora shot back, dropping her sister's hand. "I'm not afraid. You wait here?"

"No! No way, Nora. No!" Clary shouted, grabbing her arm to stop the blonde girl from moving any further. "You're not going in without me. Come on."

Without thinking twice, Nora pushed the curtains open and stepped inside, while Clary followed right behind her. The blonde guy that had crashed against Nora outside the club was now standing in the middle of the room, his body practically pressed against an older woman who was wearing a purple dress. The tension between them was almost palpable. Clary arched her eyebrows and stood back, watching the scene with curious eyes, while Nora took a few steps forward. Things escalated pretty quickly after the blonde guy pulled out a sword. With the intent of saving the woman in the violet dress, Clary rushed towards them and pushed her onto the couch, but something quite unexplainable happened then. The woman jumped up rather swiftly and opened her mouth to allow her tentacles to peek out. The blonde guy pushed Clary out of the way and swung his sword at the hellish woman, while Nora was shoved against the wall by an older man. She let out an ear-piercing scream when the individual opened his mouth and tentacles came out as well. Nora tried to kick him in his family jewels with her high heels but the grip he had on her neck was far too strong, and the oxygen inside her was becoming scarce as the seconds went by.

"Nora!" Clary yelped in panic, noticing her difficult position. The redhead sprinted towards her twin sister and jumped onto the man's broad back but, with his free hand, he sent her flying across the room once again.

"Demons definitely dig blondes." The raven-haired guy that Nora had seen outside Pandemonium countered, swinging his sword at the man who held her tightly against the wall. The blade pierced right through his back and his body turned into orange sparks before disappearing into thin air. Nora landed on her butt and grasped her own neck with great care. Those hands would definitely leave purple marks on her pale skin. She was having a hard time catching her breath again, and the raven-haired guy who had saved her life seemed to notice that. After he stabbed another one of those _people_ , he approached Nora and helped her getting up, placing one hand on her slender waist and another one over her shoulders. Once he helped her leaning against the wall, she couldn't take her eyes off of his anymore. They were so blue, so deep, and yet, so much darker than her own. His face was close to hers and she could practically feel his short breaths on her skin, letting her know that he was tired too. "Take your sister and get the hell out of here, now."

"Thank you." Nora nodded quickly and grabbed Clary's hand when she ran to her. Throwing one last glance towards the raven-haired boy's way, Nora was practically dragged out of the club by her twin sister. When they rushed outside, there was a cab waiting for them. Nora opened the door and jumped inside, while Clary did the same thing. "Drive! Quickly!" Nora commanded, holding onto her twin sister for dear life. "Are you alright?"

"What the hell was that back there?" Clary exhaled, her chest heaving quickly. She was still quite fazed by the whole thing, which was completely understandable. "That guy almost killed you, Nora! How are you so calm?"

"Calm? Do you think I'm calm? I'm freaking out about this, Clary!" Nora yelled, her eyes widened in pure fear. "I'm freaking the hell out! Did you see the guy that almost strangled me? Tentacles shot out of his freaking face! We shouldn't have gone after them. We messed up!"

"And we left Simon and Maureen back at the club." Clary added.

"We have to go back for them, Clary. It's not safe for them in there!"

"No, we're going home. Now." The redhead girl retorted, placing her trembling hands over Nora's shaking ones. "We have to tell mom about this. She'll know what to do. Do you think there might be a possibility that we were drugged or something?"

"No, this was real. It felt way too real."

Their frantic conversation fell silent after that, since they knew it was true. They had no idea of what those people were, but something strange was happening. Something strange, dangerous, and _bad_ , just like Nora had predicted. The blonde girl leaned her head against the window and mainly focused on the empty streets that would lead to their house. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. A great night had turned into crazy running and she almost got herself killed. Nora was starting to regret having entered the club to search for the blonde guy.

Before she knew it, the taxi had stopped right in front of the antique shop. The blonde twin exited the car while Clary paid the driver for his service. A few moments later, the cab was gone, and they were left standing in front of their house. "Let's get inside."

Clary unlocked the door and stepped in while Nora was right on her heels. The shop was dark and peaceful, and yet the blonde girl couldn't help but feel like it wasn't safe for them anymore. Nowhere was safe enough. The twins ran upstairs and found their mother sitting on the couch, her face illuminated by the television's bright light. Thankfully, she was still awake when they arrived.

"Mom!" Nora exclaimed, moving to sit down next to Jocelyn.

Her eyelids were heavy and she was clearly tired. If the girls hadn't arrived earlier, she would have fallen asleep on the sofa. Even so, when Jocelyn took a good look at her blonde daughter, she instantly frowned in preoccupation. "Nora, honey! What happened to your neck?"

Clary and Nora eyed each other with anxious eyes. "It's a funny story, actually. Clary, you tell mom."

"These marks look like hands to me, Nora!" Jocelyn's eyes widened in horror. "Girls, what have you done? What happened tonight?"

"Look, mom... Clary, Simon, Maureen and I were standing just outside Pandemonium. It's a night club, by the way." Nora started to tell the whole story, her hands doing crazy movements as she spoke rather nervously. "We were there, talking and having a good time, and then a blonde boy covered in tattoos crashed against me. It was really weird, because he thought we wouldn't be able to see him. He said we had the Sight or whatever. I mean, of course we have the sight! Was he expecting us to be blind?" In another time, Clary would have laughed at her sister's expression, but now, she couldn't help but pace across the living room, her nerves were completely wrecked. "Funny thing was, Simon and Maureen didn't see him, but we did. Man, I bet they thought we were crazy. Up until this moment, I'm still not sure if we were drugged or not. Anyway, we went after him. We ran inside Pandemonium. We saw him and his friends, and then they entered a restricted area, which was covered by curtains. So, Clary and I sort of barged in. The blonde guy was going to stab a woman, and so Clary ran towards them and pushed her away from him, but then, tentacles came out of her face and this weird dude pinned me against the wall, his hands around my neck, which pretty much explains these purple marks. Not to mention, it still hurts like hell!"

"Yeah, I mean, these creepy tentacles seemed to come out of the body builder's face, and then the guy just vaporized!" Clary informed, crossing her arms over her chest as she continued walking in circles.

"Well, his body kind of turned into orange sparks before he vaporized." Nora corrected. "Anyhow, that's not even the point here!"

"I mean, we were drugged, right?" Clary's voice quivered in fear.

"I don't see any other explanation, other than that one." Nora continued, hissing when Jocelyn touched her neck while examining it. The marks had become darker and more painful, but her mother pressed her hand on it without really meaning to hurt her.

"What did the markings look like on the blonde boy you were talking about, Nora?" The older woman suddenly inquired, pausing to look at her blonde daughter's puzzled expression.

"Who cares, mom?" Nora shot back, opening her mouth to say something more, but she bit her tongue to hold herself back.

"Are you even listening to us?" Clary sounded annoyed, because their mother didn't seem to understand why they were so troubled by that situation.

"Clary, Nora, did they look like this?"

"Mom, what the-"

Nora and Clary completely froze when they saw what their mother did with her own stele. As she ran the object over the skin of her wrist, a symbol revealed itself, and strangely, it was quite similar to the tattoos on the blonde guy's body. "Everything you saw tonight has a meaning and an explanation, and I've dreaded having this conversation with you two since the day you were born."

"Mom, what is going on?" Nora questioned.

"Are we going insane?" Clary chimed in, looking very upset and confused.

"No, you're not." Jocelyn answered the redhead twin's question as she got up from the couch, starting to pace across the living room as well. Now that everything had fallen into place, she knew that it was time. She had had eighteen years to prepare for this moment, and yet, she knew that even if a whole century went by, she would never be truly ready to face this situation. Unfortunately, she didn't have any other choice. "But the protections are wearing off. You're both eighteen now, and you need to know the truth."

"What are you talking about?" Nora raised her voice in complete exasperation.

"Protections? What does that even mean?" Clary sounded frustrated as well. "Mom, you're scaring the hell out of me!"

"I know, and that's why I've put this off until the last possible minute." Jocelyn shot back, offering them both a reassuring smile.

As if it wasn't bad enough between the three of them, Dot barged inside the apartment, almost out of breath. "Jocelyn, look out the window." The older woman furrowed her brow but did as her friend told her and peeked through the thin glass, noticing two men in black suits approaching their house. Dot was right. They had been discovered. "Magnus called to warn us. They found you."

"Dot, it's time." Jocelyn ran away from the window and approached the bookcase, searching for something. When she turned around to face her two panicked daughters, she was holding two necklaces, one in each hand. "Okay, listen to me, girls. You cannot be near me."

"What, in God's name, is happening? What have you done, mother?" Nora asked with a cold tone. Clary was pretty close to having a mental breakdown, but Nora remained strong and emotionless as she tried to understand what was taking place.

"I got a very powerful person angry."

"How so?"

"I hid something from him and his followers." Jocelyn answered abruptly.

"Followers?" Clary repeated, frowning in doubt. "Why can't we just call the police? I mean, wouldn't that pretty much solve the problem?"

"The policeman you need to call is Luke." Their mother informed, shoving both necklaces in their hands. "Keep this with you and think of me when you wear it."

"Mom! This is so _not_ the time for late birthday gifts!" Nora shouted, finally losing her calm. She helped Clary putting her necklace on, and then the redhead assisted her as well. When she was done with that, Nora whirled around and watched her mother through suspicious eyes. "What the hell is going on?"

Dot came into view once again, but this time she was holding a vial with some green liquid inside. "Only if you need it."

For a moment there, Jocelyn remained frozen, her dark eyes glued to the flask that she held in both hands. She would only use it if she didn't have any other option, she told herself. Then, she turned to face Nora and Clary, who looked at their own mother like she had completely lost her mind. "Clary, trust your instints. You're more powerful than you know." The way she spoke to her daughters almost made it seem like it was a definite goodbye. "And you, Nora, don't be so impulsive. You're so brave, and powerful too. Believe in yourself."

"Mom, I need to understand what's going-"

"Dot, open it!"

"What is she going to do?" Nora questioned, taking a few steps closer to Dot. Her eyes nearly fell off her face when she saw a blue light coming out of her friend's right hand. The doors of the living room were pushed aside and a violet light filled the room, almost as if it was forming a portal or a door to another place.

Clary didn't seem to notice it, but Nora did, and it was finally dawning on her. _Magic_. That's what it was. She had never been a believer, but there was no other plausible explanation for what she had seen back at the club, or why Dot's hand practically turned blue after a portal appeared magically in their apartment. "Everything I have done, every mistake I have ever made, it was because I love you two more than words." Clary tried to answer, but her voice was trapped in her throat, and Nora was too appalled by everything to even make a remark. "Luke will explain everything to you! He'll hide you both."

"Hide us from what?"

"From the Circle." Jocelyn informed the girls, pushing them both towards the portal. "He's the only one you can trust. Trust no one else!"

"Mom, I don't-"

"Where's Luke now?" Their mother interrupted, giving them a pointed look.

"At the police station!" Nora and Clary responded at the exact same time.

"Remember, girls, I love you!"

"Mom! Mom! Mom!"

Just like that, the twins disappeared into thin air and the portal was closed. One second they were at the apartment talking to their mother, and in the next, they were both sitting on the cold, hard ground. They had been sent to the police station. Nora immediately jumped up and glanced around, prepared to take on whatever was coming next for them. Clary, on the other hand, didn't even want to get up. "Clary." She was too beaten up to actually look at her sister when she called her name. "Look, Clary, I know you're confused, and lost. So am I. But we need to do something about this. Come on, just get up. We'll figure something out, alright?"

"Yeah..." And that was all she managed to say.

"Look, mom said that Luke was the only one we could trust, other than each other, and said that he would tells us the whole story, which means we have to find him immediately before somebody else does."

Clary was about to respond, but she saw Captain Vargas climbing the stairs with some papers in hands and decided to remain silent. To say that the woman looked surprised to see them both at the station was an utter understatement. "It's 2 a.m. in the morning, girls! What are you two doing here so late?"

Nora and Clary eyed each other with anxious eyes. "Luke said he would drive us both home if he was still here."

Captain Vargas smiled softly, any hint of suspicion fading away. "Still doesn't trust those cabbies, huh?" Clary nodded and tried to smile, but it came out more as grimace. "Well, he's in the middle of an interview. It could take a while."

"Oh, that's alright. We'll wait in the cafeteria." Nora declared, grabbing her sister's arm to drag her along with her.

"Is there some sort of problem? Guy problem?" Captain Vargas inquired. Her eyes widened considerably when she noticed the purple marks on Nora's neck. "Did something bad happen? Who hurt you, Nora? Your neck, it looks terrible."

"You mean this?" Nora asked, trying to smile. "It barely even hurts. It was just my crazy ex-boyfriend, that's all."

"Yeah, sure." Clary nodded with her head, gesturing towards her twin sister. "Well, you know her, always the heartbreaker."

Nora laughed nervously. "Yeah, yeah, totally, definitely! That's what we're calling it now. But everything's fine, so you don't need to worry about it. Seriously. It's okay."

Their answers seemed to satisfy her well enough, because she smiled again and started to walk away from the twins. Nora took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes for a moment. "Why do I always have to play the heartbreaker?"

"Because that's what you are." Clary answered.

Nora snorted and rolled her eyes at that. "Yeah, right. You've got the wrong sister."

After Captain Vargas disappeared from view, Clary and Nora made their way into Luke's office, but stopped near the stairs because he was accompanied by a man in a black suit and a woman with an orange dress. They appeared to be important people. Nora crouched down beside her twin sister and both remained silent, paying attention to their heated conversation and violent exchange of words.

"The minute we found out that Jocelyn Fairchild was alive, you were easy to track." The man declared. Clary and Nora arched their eyebrows in a very similar way and glanced at each other, somewhat confused. "Turns out you and Jocelyn were never that far apart, but the Circle has her now. It's just a matter of time until we catch her daughters as well."

"You can have all three of them if you give up the Mortal Cup." The woman added.

"I don't care about any of them." Luke spat scornfully. Nora was never really attached to the man, but she knew that Clary was, and it stung in her heart to hear him say those words. Maybe Luke wasn't to be trusted either. They were on their own now. The blonde girl grasped her twin sister's hand and gave it a squeeze, trying to make her see that she was not completely alone. "They mean nothing to me. Kill the three of them if you like. My people want the Cup! Why do you think I've been hanging around here all these years? Now, when I find the Cup, I'm gonna keep it. And you can tell Valentine and the Circle that."

"No one mentioned Valentine." The woman said casually, though she knew it was nothing more than an unnecessary attempt to hide the truth from Luke, since he already knew everything about it.

"You didn't have to."

"Listen to me-"

"No, you listen to me. Get out of my office, now!"

When they realized they wouldn't get anything from him, the pair left the building. The way was clear for the twins, but neither of them wanted to talk to Luke anymore. Instead they ran outside to the streets and found their way back home. It didn't matter if it was dangerous. They didn't have anywhere else to go now that they knew what Luke truly wanted from them. They couldn't count on him either. All that they had was one another, and they were both clueless about this new world. Maybe if they went back home and searched through their mother's things, they would be able to find something significant and helpful. Nora was the first to step inside the antique shop, and what she saw clearly broke her heart, since tears started rolling down her cheeks, but she made no noise. When Clary came in and saw the look on her sister's face, it was like the world came crumbling down on her. The redhead fell to her knees and sobbed loudly, fat tears streaming down her pale face. Nora bent down and brought Clary into her arms, trying to comfort her twin sister and even herself. Family meant everything to her, and now she only had Clary. She was lost, her voice was broken, and she couldn't even breathe without feeling an intense pain in her chest. Everything was shattered and thrown across the floor, there was glass everywhere and most of the antiquities had been taken.

Nora found enough strength to get up and grasped the axe sitting by the bookcase. "Clary, get up. Grab something and arm yourself." Clary glanced up at her sister, her eyes blood red and her skin pale like a ghost. "Okay. Here, you can have the axe." The redhead forced herself to stand and her lamentations died instantly as she took hold of the heavy weapon. "Let's go upstairs. We have to search the house. There could still be someone here, we can't let our guard down, you hear me?"

Clary gulped thickly and nodded slowly, following her sister as she climbed the stairs that led to their apartment. Nora grasped a large vase on their way and held it in front of her. If somebody tried to attack them, she would smash it over that person's head. Clary's green eyes trailed over the living room and she saw the mess they had left behind. Jocelyn had put up quite a fight. Nora suddenly stopped walking and looked petrified. "Dot."

"Girls!" The older woman exclaimed, surfacing from the darkness of the living room. "They took Jocelyn!"

"Who took her?" Clary questioned, almost on the brink of crying again.

"Rogue Shadowhunters searching for the Mortal Cup." Dot answered. Her calm voice sounded a little too sinister in Nora's ears.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Clary raised her voice, dropping the axe on the floor.

"Think, Clary, Nora. Did your mother ever talk to you about a Cup? A very importante Cup." Dot stuttered, taking a few steps closer to the twins. Nora instantly backed away from the older woman, knowing that something was off about her. She knew Dot all too well, and this wasn't her. Clary was beginning to realize that as well. She was not interested in their mother's whereabouts, she wanted the Mortal Cup for herself. "It's gold, almost like a chalice."

"No, no. I don't know anything about a cup!" Clary replied, turning to look at her sister. "Do you, Nora?"

"Never even heard about that damn thing before." Nora retorted, narrowing her eyes at the older woman. "Why is everyone going crazy about it? Have you even stopped to think that maybe it could be one of the remaining antiquities downstairs? Or, I mean, the people who took mom practically stole everything, so maybe they have it. Or maybe it's still here, somewhere. I don't know, Dot!"

"Think about it, Nora, it's a very important Cup." Dot repeated, her eyes darker than the night itself. "Think, girls. This could save Jocelyn."

"I can't think, Dot! Someone kidnapped our mother!" Clary shouted, throwing her hands up in the air in evident despair.

"You know more than you think you do, Clary Fray." Dot's voice almost sounded like she was making a threat. Nora had been suspicious of her, but when she saw the tentacles crawling out of her face, she was certain that the thing that stood in front of them was definitely not their beloved friend. Realizing this, Clary stabbed her stele through the creature's abdomen, but unfortunately, it wasn't very effective. The monster dropped to the floor and morphed back into its original form while Nora and Clary gazed at it with horrified expressions.

It growled threateningly and jumped onto the coffee table, immediately breaking it. It scratched Clary before it sent her flying across the living room. The redhead fell unconscious almost immediately, leaving Nora to handle that monstrous creature on her own. Nora smashed the vase over the hellish thing's head, but it only seemed to anger it even more. Before she could make another move, it grasped her neck and she let out an ear-piercing scream as it squeezed her tight against the wall. Again, she was in a tough position. It dug its claws onto her skin and she hissed in pain as it growled back at her. Before she knew it, the monster's body turned into orange sparks and disappeared for good, revealing the person who stood behind it and killed it.

"You again?" Nora stuttered rudely, taking deep breaths.

"What? No 'thank you' for saving your life? It's the second time tonight." The raven-haired boy responded, noticing the bleeding marks on her neck. She had been poisoned by the demon. Nora snorted at his remark, and noticed that he wasn't alone. The blonde guy was there too. He approached her twin sister and picked her up bridal style, her red hair flowing in waves as he brought her closer to Nora.

"The demon got a piece of her." Blondie reported, waiting for his friend's reaction.

Nora's knees began to give in, and everything around her became blurry. Before she hit the floor, the raven-haired guy caught her in his arms and she smiled widely as if she had been smoking pot. Her eyes were puffy and only half-open. "Are you an angel?" The blue-eyed girl questioned him, which caused Blondie to snicker back at his best friend. "I usually don't go for guys with tattoos, but _God_ , you are so hot. I love your tattoos, seriously!"

"You're going to regret having said that when your system is venom free."

"Doubt it." Nora mumbled before passing out for good. She leaned her head against his chest and he picked her up in his arms.

"Well, that one's a flirt." Jace commented, an amused smile gracing his lips as they carried the twin sisters out of their apartment.

Alec gave him a small smile as he studied the girl he held in his arms with great care. "Afraid you've got competition now?"

* * *

Nora's eyes flipped open and she tumbled down the bed, taking short breaths. Her deep blue orbs glanced around the room and she found Clary sleeping in the bed right next to hers. When she looked up, she nearly had a stroke. A raven-haired girl was sitting on her bed, watching her with an amused grin plastered on her red lips. Her eyes were a dark brown, and she was quite beautiful, if Nora was going to be honest. "Okay, where the hell am I now? And who are you?"

"You're a charming one, I see. I'm Isabelle Lightwood." The girl replied, her smile growing wider and even more curious. "Is that your sister?"

"Twin." Nora nodded, swallowing hard before getting up from the floor. She sat down on the bed once again and glanced down at herself, arching an eyebrow. She was only wearing an old shirt that almost reached her knees. "I seriously hope you were the one to take my clothes off, because it would be freaking creepy if one of the guys who saved us did it." The blonde girl shuddered, thinking about who had probably taken her previous clothes. "I'm Nora Fray, by the way."

Isabelle laughed and nodded. "Don't worry, Nora. I took care of that."

"Oh, thank God."

"You know, I have never seen Jace so curious about a mundane, or distracted. I mean, your sister must have caused some impact on him." Isabelle countered, glancing over at a sleeping Clary with a devious smirk on her pretty face. "Like you saw earlier, distractions are dangerous in our line of work."

"Line of work? Yeah, nice one." Nora rolled her eyes. "What are you, guys? CIA agents?"

"I like you, Nora." Isabelle informed, her smile growing wider as Nora became even more confused.

"Well, I don't go for girls, so I'm sorry." The blonde girl shot back, offering her a similar grin. "But if I did, I would probably choose you."

"I would choose you too, just so you know." Isabelle Lightwood was very pleased at that, especially because this girl seemed to be a great match for her. If she were to stay in the institute, they would become great friends, she was almost sure of it. Nora Fray was witty, spunky and certainly wasn't afraid to speak her mind, and Isabelle appreciated those traits very much. "Well, my brother doesn't go for girls either. I take it you two will be great friends too."

"And your brother is?"

"The raven-haired boy with blue eyes that carried you into the Institute." Isabelle responded, laughing when she saw the disappointment on her face. So, he was gay? Nora frowned and tried to mask her discontent. "I'm joking, relax. My brother seemed very reluctant in letting you go, as I remember. And Jace... he didn't leave the infirmary until he made sure your sister's condition was stabilized."

"Who's Jace?"

"Tall, blonde, handsome. You've seen him."

"Right! The guy who nearly knocked me on my ass outside Pandemonium. I call him Goldilocks, and Blondie. Oh, he's a total gentleman."

"He surely is." Isabelle murmured, gazing away from Nora when she heard the redhead twin groaning, her eyelids opening swiftly. Clary immediately sat up and analyzed her surroundings, her dark green eyes widening in panic. Where the hell was she? Isabelle and Nora immediately joined Clary's side, knowing that she was going to ask a lot of questions and maybe even start to freak out, again. For some reason, that place felt safe. It was safer than their own house, that was for sure. "Oh, good, you're awake."

"Wait, I don't know who you-"

"I'm Isabelle." The raven-haired girl interrupted, placing her hands over Clary's trembling ones. She immediately snatched them away and leaned against the bed, trying to put some distance between the beautiful stranger and herself. For some reason, Nora had trusted the girl a lot faster than Clary, who was now suspicious of everything around her. "As I was telling your sister, I have never seen Jace so distracted because of a mundane girl."

"Jace? Who the hell is Jace?"

"You really don't know much, do you?"

"Look, all I know is that some psychos took our mother, and now you people have taken me and my sister."

"And by 'taken', I assume you mean 'saved your life'?" Isabelle smirked.

Nora opened her mouth to say something, but she froze when she saw the guy who had saved her from death twice coming into the room. "These mundanes shouldn't even be here." He uttered, obviously not pleased by their presence.

"Where is 'here' exactly?" Clary decided to ask, but got completely ignored.

"They're not mundanes, Alec." Blondie, or Goldilocks, or Jace, argued with his friend, moving to sit between Clary and Nora. Isabelle walked away from them and lied down in another bed, amusement written all over her face as she watched things aggravating between them.

"How do you know that?"

"Because the seraph blade lit up when she touched it." Jace answered, gesturing towards Clary, who simply remained silent and observant.

"And her?" Alec inquired, pointing towards Nora, who cocked her eyebrows in surprise.

"They're twins, Alec. She's not a mundane either."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed it." Alec countered, rolling his eyes.

"I'm Jace Wayland." Goldilocks finally introduced himself to the twins.

"Yeah, I heard it." Nora mumbled.

"I'm, uh-"

"Clary Fray, yeah, we know who you are." Jace interrupted her. "And you're Nora Fray." Blondie only gazed at her for two or three seconds before he turned to look at the redhead twin again. Clary's mouth was mildly open and she was at a loss of words.

"Am I the only one who finds this unusual?" Alec insisted, folding his arms across his chest.

Isabelle smirked pleasantly, noticing something funny about her brother's expression. His eyes were hard and judging when he looked at Clary Fray, but when they landed on her twin sister, they seemed to soften a little bit. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, but she was sure she had seen it, even for a split second.

"You find everything unusual, Alec." Jace snapped at him. At that, Nora snorted loudly, and when Alec's eyes gazed upon her, she glanced away from him and tried not to laugh. Was he always so serious and arrogant?

"I have to report this to the Clave." Alec declared.

"You know what? Dial it down a notch." Jace spat almost annoyingly, his best friend's attitudes clearly leaving him frustrated.

"My brother doesn't have a dial." Isabelle chimed in. "I love you, Alec, but you have a switch that's always on."

"I love you too." Alec responded in a monotone voice, turning to look at Clary and Nora, once again with the judging eyes. "But this, just-"

"Hey, you know what? Give me a minute." Jace forced him to stop talking, crossing his arms over his chest in an authoritarian manner. "Here's a word you never hear me say: please!"

Alec narrowed his eyes and glared sharply at Clary. "What is it with you?" Isabelle jumped up from the bed and grasped her brother's arm, pulling him along with her. "Really, no, what is it with him?"

"Walk with me, big brother."

Although they left the infirmary, Nora could still hear Alec's angry voice through the hallway. He really wasn't happy about them being there at the institute, was he? She just shrugged it off and jumped up from the bed, pulling at the old shirt she was wearing. Even though it covered what was necessary, it was not enough. She wasn't wearing anything underneath that old rag, so she felt pretty much naked. She couldn't wait to put something else on.

"Your wounds are healed." Jace pointed out, causing Nora to stop sauntering across the room.

"How is that even possible?" Clary asked. "So, what, my sister and I are miraculously healed, and all of you stunning people have magical powers?"

 _Stunning people_? Nora chuckled at her sister's remark. Clary was very direct when it came to her honest opinion. Jace and the redhead looked at Nora and frowned, which caused her to stop laughing. Nora swallowed hard and continued pacing in silence.

"No, don't confuse me with a warlock." Jace continued, turning to look at Clary once again.

There was something about the way that Jace looked at Clary... it was more than obvious that he had taken a liking to the redhead twin. "A what?"

"A warlock." Jace repeated, still surprised to see that she didn't seem to believe him. "It's one of the Downworlders."

"Okay, racist much?" Nora snapped at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Alright, you're not making any sense." Clary retorted.

"Warlocks, vampires, seelies-"

"Slow down, Winchester." Nora laughed, clearly not taking him seriously.

"Yeah! Literally, my brain is about to explode." Clary sighed, glancing down at her shaky hands.

"Jeez, alright! Well, I'll keep it simple for you two. All the legends are true." Jace uttered, watching both of their expressions. Clary still didn't want to believe him, but Nora seemed like she was acknowledging all of that new information. "And we are Shadowhunters. We protect the human world from the demon world. So, those people you two saw murdered at the Pandemonium, they weren't people at all. They were shapeshifting demons."

"So good to know that two demons already had their hands wrapped around my neck." Nora commented sarcastically.

"It's the truth." Jace insisted. "They were the first ones,but probably won't be the last."

"Thank you! Those are the things that help me sleep at night." Nora threw her hands up in the air. Those news were terrible but Nora believed him, she definitely did. The things she had seen, the things she had experienced... how could she not believe him? While Clary seemed prepared to break down again, Nora maintained a strong posture. Everything they had told them was starting to make sense, at last. Somehow, she knew that they would find Jocelyn, but she didn't want to show them her vulnerable side, unlike Clary. Only her family was allowed to see through her mask.

"Okay, but I'm not interested in being a part of your supernatural fight club. I just wanna find our mom! The rest of it, whatever it is... all I care about is finding our mother. Please, Jace. Please, help us find her." Clary breathed, tears brimming in her eyes.

"I'm the best chance you've got."

"Yeah, right! We don't even know you, dude." Nora pointed out.

"Well, I guess you don't have any other choice but to rely on us."

Clary's phone started ringing and she was quick to answer it. "Simon." The redhead exhaled, her face turning even paler. She jumped up and started pacing across the room, rambling to the phone and gesticulating nonstop. She approached the window and peered down. Her green eyes lit up with pure relief and she smiled, even though she knew that Simon wouldn't be able to see her from down there. "Alright, alright! Give me five minutes. I have to get dressed." After those words abandoned her lips, Clary immediately regretted it, as she knew that Simon was about to give her a hard lecture about drugs and whatnot.

"As much as I would _love_ to stand here all night, Jace, I would also love to wear something else, other than this old shirt. Where's the dress I was wearing?" Nora inquired, every once in a while glancing over at her twin sister. She was still talking to Simon. She laughed internally, shaking her head a little.

"There was demon venom all over it. I don't think you'd want it back." Jace answered, getting up from the bed as well. "I got rid of it, but don't fret. Isabelle left you and Clary some of her clothes. I should probably warn you: Alec's sister is very comfortable with her body."

Nora grinned widely. "Not a problem. So am I." Her response certainly left him appalled, but not in a bad way. Nora chuckled softly and grabbed Isabelle's clothes, going behind the changing screen of the infirmary. It only took her a few moments to put on the black leather pants and the black tank top. Whoever this girl was, she had incredible taste in clothing. Unfortunately, Clary didn't share the same opinion. Luckily, the black combat boots that Isabelle left for Nora seemed to fit her like gloves, and so did the black leather jacket. No one would ever suspect that those clothes didn't belong to Nora.

"Okay, so, I'm supposed to wear this dress?" Clary asked after she hung up her phone. "You're kidding, right?"

"I would wear it." Nora countered, clearly not seeing what the problem was.

"Of course you would."

"Zip it, Clary. Stop being a baby and just put it on. I wanna go see Simon."

Having said that, Nora stepped out of the infirmary and walked down the hallway. It wasn't long before she got lost. She growled and cursed a few times, but took a deep breath and tried to focus again. It was just her luck that Alec Lightwood was passing by and saw her standing there with no sense of direction.

"Already lost?"

"Not lost, just admiring the view."

"What do you want?" Alec asked her, obviously not amused by her attitude.

"Well, for starters, you could be a little bit nicer, but other than that, I just wanna find the exit."

"Come with me, then. I will gladly show it to you."

Nora rolled her eyes at Alec, but followed him nevertheless. So, maybe he wasn't the warmest person in the world. In fact, he was very rude to her and other people. Yet, there was something rather strange and appealing about him that she couldn't put into words. When Nora was under the effect of the demon's venom, she was telling him the truth. Alec resembled an angel. Unfortunately, he was an angel with a bad attitude when it came to her and her twin sister. Still, she smirked deviously at him. Two could certainly play at that game.


	3. New Acquaintances

"So, tell me again, why can't Simon see you?"

Alec rolled his eyes for the hundredth time and unlocked the front door, stepping aside to allow the blonde girl to go first. "I've told you, it's a glamour. It's a rune that makes me invisible to mundanes."

"Oh, so there's runes for everything." Nora uttered, her sentence sounding more like a question.

"Not everything, but there's for heat, strength, protection, agility, and plenty of others."

"And healing." Nora added with a meaningful expression on her face, turning around to face him. "Who drew this rune on my neck?"

"I did it. It was either that, or letting you die." Alec said in a harsh tone. Nora nodded with her head and seemed to ponder about his words as she approached her human friend, who was already accompanied by Clary and Jace. Alec didn't go back inside, instead he stood back a little and crossed his arms over his chest, watching with a strange glint in his eyes while Nora rushed over to Simon and threw her arms around his neck to bring him closer to her.

"Okay, with Nora, I'm used to seeing her dressed like this, but you? What the hell do you have on, Clary?" Simon stuttered nervously, fixing his glasses as he analyzed the dress that the redhead twin was wearing. He wouldn't go that far and say that she didn't look beautiful, because she did, very much in fact, but there was something strange happening to them, and he was really worried.

"Alright, Simon, I'm going to pretend like you didn't just say that about me." Nora declared, whirling around to gaze at Jace and Alec, who seemed to be having another one of their heated discussions. Those two appeared to be pretty close, almost like brothers, but they were always arguing. Or was it just because of a certain redhead girl's unwanted presence? Nora eyed them with curiosity and examined their expressions. After a while of doing that, she came to the conclusion that Alec completely hated her twin sister, and he was afraid that Jace would fall in love with Clary. Of course those words didn't exactly pour out of the brunette boy's mouth, but it was clear to her that he was jealous, absolutely jealous. In the meantime, Clary and Simon plunged into a discussion as well, and Nora started to wonder why in God's name had she decided to come out of the institute and talk to Simon. Surely, he was hers and Clary's best friend, but he wouldn't understand their situation, he would try to make them run from who they were. Their lives were messed up beyond repair and, in this case, ignoring the problem wouldn't make it go away.

Nora shook her head and started climbing the steps back to the institute, but she was grabbed and pulled by a guy in a suit who used her to shield himself from the Shadowhunters. He was the same man that she had seen back at the police station, talking to Luke. His blade rested against her neck and, for the third time, she was in danger. Clary and Simon stopped arguing and so did Jace and Alec when they saw that it was a member of the Circle who had Nora trapped in his arms. "Clary and Nora Fray!" Jace and Alec immediately pulled out their seraph blades and took a few steps closer to them. "If you let me take the two girls, I'll let you all live."

"You're in no position to be making rules." Jace snarled perilously.

"We'll never stop hunting them." The man warned him, a sickening smirk plastered on his lips.

"Then we will be ready for you." Nora snapped at him, stomping on his foot. She pushed him away from her and sprinted towards Clary and Simon while Jace and Alec fought the rogue shadowhunter. It wasn't long before he was lying on the ground, lifeless. Alec removed his blade from the man's back and stood up, analyzing Nora's reaction. She was on edge, she couldn't even believe that she had watched them killing another man.

Clary immediately joined Jace's side. "Is he dead?"

"Is who dead?" Simon questioned, utterly puzzled. Of course, he wasn't able to see them because he didn't have the Sight.

Simon couldn't begin to understand what was happening, so he became even more startled and worried when he suddenly saw a dead man's body appearing out of nowhere. "What the..." He wasn't able to finish his sentence, given the fact that he was too scared and surprised to say anything.

"Could you guys deglamourize or whatever, so that my best friend doesn't think I'm losing my mind?" Clary demanded, placing both her hands on her hips.

Alec rolled his eyes and Jace snorted but did as Clary told him. Seconds later, they were both visible, and Simon was pretty sure he was starting to lose his mind too. Nora sneered and smiled at Alec's irritated expression. There were so many other things that Alec would rather be doing in that moment, and still, putting up with mundanes wasn't one of them. "What is happening?"

"Look, we don't have the luxury right now, kid." Jace said abruptly. "Everyone back inside."

"Nora, who are they? Are they your meth dealers or something?" Simon asked her, once again insisting that she was consuming drugs.

"Simon, they're not my drug dealers. I'm not into drugs, for God's sake." Nora responded with a very calm voice. "This is real, please, accept it."

Clary turned to look up at Jace, pointing at the dead man on the ground. "Nora and I have seen him before, at the police station."

"He's a member of the Circle." Jace informed them. "Clary, Nora, he's here for you two."

"He's with the people who took our mother." Clary realized.

"Right, and your little best friend here led him right to you!" Jace replied with a certain arrogance in his voice. "He's here to capture or to kill you."

"There's a dead body in here, we have to call Luke!" Simon chimed in, completely disoriented and astonished.

"Look, Simon, Luke is not to be trusted, alright?" Nora snapped at him, hugging her sides. "We're on our own now."

"Clary, I need to keep you safe." Jace insisted, placing his big hands over her smaller ones. Nora snorted at that and turned around to look at Alec, wanting to see his reaction. Surprisingly, that was when she noticed that he had his eyes glued to her. Thankfully, it was dark outside, otherwise he would have been able to see the enormous blush on her cheeks. "You too, Nora. I promise you both, I promise I am gonna help you find your mother. But you're one of us, Clary, and so are you, Nora. You're Shadowhunters."

Simon frowned deeply without understanding a word of what Jace had said. "What are you talking about? Clary, Nora, you don't know these guys, alright? Girls, come on, come with me! I can get us help. Please, Nora. Clary, come on."

Nora sighed and patted her best friend's shoulder rather gently. "Look, Simon, I wish things were that simple. Unfortunately, the help you could possibly get us wouldn't be useful at all. I can't believe I'm going to say this but, I think that Jace, Alec and the rest of their people might just be our best shot at finding our mother." Simon looked like he was about to argue with her, but then he remained quiet and ended up nodding with his head in agreement.

"Good, now that we are all on the same page, let's get inside." Jace declared.

"How do we know this Mick Jagger-looking guy is even gonna try-"

"Mundane, we do not have the time." Jace immediately cut Simon off before he could say something else.

"Come on, Simon. Let's go." Clary told him with a soft smile, grasping her best friend's hand to drag him along with her.

Jace and Nora entered the old building, but only then did they notice that Alec was standing by the door, preventing Clary and Simon from getting inside too. "Alec, stop that. Let them in, for God's sake."

"What? Now, we're bringing in more mundanes into the institute?" Alec asked, his growing anger was quite noticeable in his eyes. "We're breaking the rules, Jace."

"I'm not a mundane." Clary said with an irritated voice.

"No, but he is." Alec snapped back, pointing at Simon in an accusing manner.

"If he's that much big of a problem to you, don't worry about Simon because I won't let him out of my sight, now move along." Clary growled at him, starting to get annoyed by his attitudes.

Alec grumbled to himself and stepped inside the institute, allowing Simon and Clary to get in as well. Nora closed the door once everyone had stepped through, and then she noticed how dark and cold it was inside. Jace began drawing a new rune on his arm, while Simon eyed him, tremendously horrified. Clary noticed the look in his eyes and gave his hand a squeeze, trying to reassure him. "I know, but trust me."

"He's, like, burning himself."

After he said that, Jace smirked and slapped his hand in his, startling Simon a little. "Buddy, what's going on, man? I'm not your type, man! I don't even-" He stopped in the middle of his own sentence and watched as the building went from looking like an old, abandoned church, to looking like a secret lair with the highest technology of all times. "Where are we? What the hell? Clary, is there a war going on that I don't know about?"

"There is now." Jace responded, gesturing for them to follow him into the computers' room.

As soon as he had the chance, Alec walked away from the small group and approached Isabelle, who was working on another section of computers. Nora watched him leave her side, but shrugged it off and focused on her twin sister and her best friend. "There might a chance that our mother's at the center of this war." Nora countered, grabbing Simon's arm rather gently. "Come on."

"What is this place?" Simon inquired, widening his eyes in wonder as he observed the high tech surrounding him. "There's a lot of gear in here. What did they do, rob a tech shop?" Clary groaned impatiently and rolled her eyes at him. Simon was, once again, attacking Jace with sarcastic remarks, and she hated that. It only made things worse for them. "So, this cold-blooded killer is gonna help us?"

"He's not a killer." Clary responded in a defensive way, glaring sharply at her best friend. "He's protecting us."

"Specifically you. And your sister."

"Nora." The blonde girl chimed in, crossing her arms over her chest. "My name's Nora, not 'Clary's sister'. You'd do well to remember that."

Jace chuckled lightly, starting to realize that she found it rather annoying how he never said her name, and only referred to her as 'Clary's sister'. "Duly noted, Nora Fray."

"Now that's more like it." Nora smirked in an amused way. "So, you'll protect us both. How do you plan on doing that? If you haven't noticed, Clary is very talented in getting herself in trouble. It's one of her most formidable traits. And me, well... look at me and you'll understand why we're always in trouble."

"Very funny." Clary shot back, throwing her a dirty look. "The point is, Jace will protect us."

"It's sort of our thing." While saying that, Jace glared directly at Simon, knowing that he would cause some jealousy to rise in him.

"Your thing? You guys have a thing?" Simon asked, clearly annoyed and preoccupied.

Clary rolled her eyes again. She didn't know for how long she would be able to put up with those two together. "He means a Shadowhunter thing. That's what they do, protecting humans from demons."

"Demons, right! That makes perfect sense, because there are demons running all around New York!" Simon threw his hands up in the air, his voice was laced with evident sarcasm. Unfortunately, he didn't know just how right he was about that.

"That is the first correct thing you've said all day." Jace commented, observing the computers to see if anything new came up.

"Unfortunately, Jace is right." Nora informed, caressing Simon's shoulder in a soothing manner.

"You're not helping, Nora." Simon replied.

" _NYPD_!" Jace and Nora turned their heads towards the computer next to the one they had been analyzing. The cameras outside caught images of two policemen entering the abandoned church, which startled Clary and Simon.

"Won't they be able to find us?" Nora asked, voicing her sister's exact thoughts.

"No, our wards will deter them." Jace explained, the tip of his finger touching the screen very lightly. "And the NYPD will do their typical mundie thing for a few hours and then the area will be clear."

"Don't mind me asking, but what exactly is a Circle member and why are they trying to kill us?" Simon inquired suddenly.

"All we know is that, a long time ago, the Circle led a revolt. A lot of Shadowhunters got killed, including my dad." Jace answered simply. Nora and Clary glanced at each other with sad eyes, both feeling sorry for Blondie. "And since the revolt we've been forbidden to even hear about the Circle."

"But, how is that even possible? It's your history." Clary pointed out.

"Says the girl who didn't know she was a Shadowhunter." Jace shot back, a playful smile creeping out of his lips.

"Yeah, you're right! And now the only person who knows the truth is missing, so I don't care about your rules or what's forbidden! There's got to be someone out there who can tell us why they've taken my mother." Clary said, her voice laced with anger.

"And there is." Jace answered and Clary sighed in relief. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah." Clary immediately responded, chasing after him.

Simon followed the pair, but they stopped halfway because Jace didn't want him to come along with them. Nora laughed, already expecting something like that to happen. Jace wanted some alone time with Clary, and he felt somewhat threatened by Simon because he was her best friend. "No, no, not you. Nora can come if she wants to, but not the mundane."

"I'm not going. You guys can go." Nora responded, her eyes merely focused on Alec, who seemed quite oblivious to the whole situation.

"Hey, we're a package deal." Clary argued, grasping Simon's hand to prove it.

"Yeah!" Simon agreed, happy to see that Clary stood up for him.

"There are runes all over the training room floor that would kill your mundie boyfriend." Jace uttered, trying to convince him to stay behind with Nora and the rest.

"He's not my-"

"I'm not, like-" Simon's voice wavered as he suddenly became rather nervous and edgy. "We're, uh, just friends."

"Best friends." Clary corrected, looking quite certain of her own words.

"Yeah, and I'm tough! I can handle runes! So, uh, bring on the runes." Simon tried to appear strong in the eyes of the blonde stranger, but he failed miserably at it. "By the way, what exactly are runes?"

Isabelle got up from her chair and approached them, the clothes that she was wearing showing plenty of her tanned skin. She ran her stele over her arm and smirked at Simon seductively, revealing one of her many runes. "They give Shadowhunters our demon-fighting powers." His chin nearly dropped to the floor as he finally had the chance to really look at her.

"So hot." Simon stuttered, not being able to look away from the black-haired beauty. Jace raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat. "I mean, the rune!"

"Oh, honey, you are so smooth." Nora chuckled, slapping his shoulder in a playful manner.

"Don't worry, Clary." Isabelle spoke directly to the redhead girl, smirking deviously. "I'll watch over the best friend, while my big brother can take care of your dear sister. In fact, I was about to make breakfast."

"On second thought, the runes might be less lethal." Jace commented, chuckling lightly.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Isabelle laughed, shaking her head in amusement.

"Wait, I have to what?" Alec asked, finally understanding his sister's words.

"Nevermind that, I don't need anyone babysitting me." Nora spat, crossing her arms over her chest, determined to keep her distance from Alec.

"You sure about that? You might get lost, _again_." Alec replied in the same tone.

Nora was going to reply, but Isabelle stopped her just in time. "Please excuse my brother's lack of manners, Nora. He's always moody." Nora snorted and turned around so she didn't have to look at him anymore. Isabelle shook her head with a smile and faced Simon, once again. "I'm Isabelle."

"Lewis, Simon. Simon Lewis! Two first names." He stammered, fixing his glasses as he did so. "Am I still talking?"

Isabelle giggled, obviously pleased at his reaction to her. "See? Best friend's safe and sound here." Jace added, mentally thanking Isabelle for keeping him away from him. Although Clary and Nora seemed to like him a lot, Jace could tell that they weren't going to be the best of friends.

"Jace, if anything happens to him-"

"Go on, I'll be fine!" Simon exclaimed dismissively. "I think."

Clary seemed satisfied by his answer. "Where are we going?"

"Training room." Jace informed her, turning around to whisper in Simon's ear, patting his shoulders. "Hey, uh, don't eat the food. Dangerous."

"Jace, coming?" Clary asked, already running ahead of him.

"Yeah, I'm coming!"

After Isabelle and Simon left to go do whatever it was that they were going to do together, Nora was forced to sit back and watch as Alec messed around with the computers, searching for informations on new demonic cases and such, or so she thought. She was growing quite bored of watching him, so she stood up and started walking away from Alec, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her from moving any further. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"To get some fresh air. Why? Am I not allowed?"

"You can't go out there on your own."

"Right, because it's dangerous."

"It is, and you can't defend yourself."

"Well, one might never know. The element of surprise always knocks people out." Nora shrugged it off and moved to stand closer to Alec almost unconsciously, her blue eyes trailing over the computer he was working on. "Anyway, what are you so desperately trying to find?"

"Jocelyn, your mother." Alec answered in a monotone voice. That seemed more than enough to grab Nora's attention.

"And? Anything about her location? Can you find her?" The blonde girl leaned forward and examined the little information that he had gathered. Alec observed her closely, noticing how her expression went from hopeful to helpless in a matter of three seconds. "Damn it, mom, where the hell are you?" She ran her fingers through her golden hair and groaned exasperatedly, starting to pace across the room. Alec watched her with curious eyes, until she turned to face him again, a bit calmer this time. "Tell me, what is it with you and my sister? Such hatred. What did she ever do to you? I mean, you barely know her, you barely know me."

"You're both trouble, that's why. Nine or ten rules have already been broken because of you two."

"So, you're a good guy, one who lives by other people's rules other than his own. Tell me, how does that work exactly?"

"It's true what I've heard about mundanes. They don't have any sense of rationality."

"Well, don't mind me! I'm not a mundane."

"You surely act like one."

Alec and Nora stood there, glaring sharply at each other. He was waiting to see if she was going to let him win, or if she'd add some snarky remark. Instead, she huffed and twirled around. Nora started walking away from him, but still he made the choice to chase after her. It wasn't like him to do this for a girl, but Nora was certainly something else. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"To find Isabelle! She's the only one bearable in here." Nora snapped, throwing him a dirty look.

Alec truly seemed offended by her words. "Fine, then. I'll take you to her bedroom." Nora let out a sarcastic chuckle, placing her hands on her hips. Only then did she realize that he was serious. "Or, you can go by yourself and maybe get lost."

Nora smirked challengingly at him. "Oh yeah? Just watch me."

Alec was absolutely right about that, but she wasn't going to let him win that round. So, she ventured into the heart of the institute, and it wasn't long before she got lost without knowing where to go. It almost seemed like luck, because she saw Jace and Clary passing by, the redhead walking ahead of him like she was furious. Nora chuckled internally and noticed that it wasn't only to her that those things happened. "Clary! Jace!" Both of them stopped and eyed Nora with strange eyes. How the hell did she get in there on her own?

"What are you doing here? I thought you were with Alec." Jace stated, though it sounded more like a question to her.

"I was, but now I'm not." Nora said dismissively, shrugging it off. "Did you come across anything useful that might help us find our mother?"

"We did, actually." Clary responded, crossing her arms over her chest as she glanced down at her own feet.

The redhead twin seemed reluctant in telling her sister the truth. "Well? Spill it out, Clary. I wanna know all about it."

"Look, mom was a part of the Circle." Clary uttered at last. "But then she left. Valentine Morgenstern was the leader, he was thought to be dead, but he actually isn't. He's the one who took our mother, Nora. She hid the Mortal Cup from him to stop him from committing even more atrocities." She paused, taking a deep breath. Strangely, Nora was silent, which was not something normal when it came to her.

"Valentine almost destroyed the Shadow World and humanity along with it. If he had gotten the Cup and carried out with his plan, most of humanity would have died in the process. The Mortal Cup is the most important object in the Shadow World and whoever has it can create more Shadowhunters." Jace chimed in. Clary nodded thankfully at him and leaned against the wall. She was clearly exhausted. "In the wrong hands, it can control demons."

"And now Valentine has her. Our mother is in danger." Clary stammered, her voice breaking a little. "We have to find her."

"And we have to find the Mortal Cup too!" Nora added. "We can't let Valentine get to it before we do. We have to hide it from him."

"That is precisely my point." Jace agreed, his eyes trailing over Clary as she sighed heavily. In the little time that he had known her, he already seemed drawn to her, like there was some sort of force pulling those two together. "Can't you guys remember anything about a Cup? Has your mother ever talked to you about it?"

"Never." Nora answered honestly.

"Come on, guys, you know something. Think, please." Jace insisted.

"Don't you think I've tried that already? It's kind of like there are blank spots in my memory as a child." Nora admitted, scared of what that could mean.

"Yeah, it's just empty blackness, that's what it is." Clary added with an annoyed tone.

"Your memories have been wiped." Jace realized.

"What?" Nora exclaimed, frowning in confusion.

"That's not possible." Clary responded at the same time. "Is it?"

"Absolutely. If you know a warlock." Jace suggested.

"A warlock?" Clary repeated, utterly puzzled.

"Yeah, a warlock, Clary. Immortal beings, they're half-demon, half-human." Jace explained. "Sometimes their fingers spark."

That's when it hit Nora like a train. "Wait a second, wait. We might know one! Dot, our mother's assistant and friend, her hands had this blue glow when she opened the wall and our mother pushed us through. Moments later we were at the police station."

"That was a portal." Jace informed them, though Nora kind of already knew what it was. "Only warlocks can create them."

"Wait, so you're saying that if we find the real Dot, she could help us find the Mortal Cup and get our mom back?" Clary concluded, her eyes lighting up in hope.

"Unless she's working for Valentine." Jace countered.

"Even better." Clary smirked.

"She will lead us right to him." Nora finished. The twins eyed each other and smiled. "Now, will someone tell me where Isabelle's room is?"

* * *

After Jace led Clary to Simon, Nora decided she was going to spend some time with her new acquaintance, Isabelle Lightwood. From the minute she had known the blonde girl, Isabelle knew that Nora would like her right away. In the end, it was hard not to like her. Isabelle was beautiful, smart, brave and fought for her own interests. In some ways, those two seemed to be quite alike, and that was why Isabelle was interested too.

Isabelle was lying on her own bed rather lazily as she watched Nora taking off her previous clothes to try new ones. "I can't believe how different you and your twin sister really are." Isabelle said suddenly, analyzing the girl's slender body. Nora was very well-built. She had everything in the right place and, quite like her, she wasn't afraid of showing a little too much of skin. Isabelle smirked and jumped up from her bed to start pacing across her bedroom. Nora quickly put Isabelle's black dress on and noticed how it fit her like a glove. "Okay, you definitely cannot wear that without a bra." Nora looked in the mirror and saw that Isabelle was right. If she walked out of her bedroom dressed like that, her breasts could end up peeking out, and even though it would be interesting to see the boys' reactions, she would also die of embarrassment. "Well, to be fair, I can't either."

"Since we're being honest, you're not the first person who has said that about us. Even our mother used to say it." Nora answered, beginning to undress herself again. She ran her delicate hands through the dress and handed it back to Isabelle. "I kind of like it, though. I'm glad we're different."

"You and Clary remind me of Alec and I." Isabelle admitted, grabbing a new dress from her wardrobe to pass it to Nora. "You're different in many ways, but work very well together." Nora nodded in agreement and started putting on the new dress. "And, look, I know my big brother is not the most pleasant person in the world, but I can always count on him. So does Jace."

"I didn't say anything about Alec." Nora laughed, raising her hands in the air.

"You thought it, though." Isabelle smirked and walked closer to the blonde girl. "Most people fail to see through his arrogance, you know?"

"I think I've already seen a little."

"What do you mean?"

"Jace." Nora replied simply, while Isabelle smiled widely. Of course she had seen it. She paid far too much attention to Alec. "He's in love with him, isn't he?"

"They're parabatai." Isabelle corrected.

"And what is that?"

"Two warriors who fight together as lifelong partners. Alec and Jace are bound together by oath. It's not just about the fighting, this is about being loyal and how they lay down their lives for one another. They would die for each other." Isabelle explained, noticing a significant change in Nora's blue eyes. Her expression turned softer, and she seemed pleased to know that Alec wasn't actually in love with Jace. "Those two are like brothers, Nora. Don't worry."

"Worry? Why would I be worried?" Nora chuckled nervously, avoiding Isabelle's burning gaze.

"I don't know, you tell me." Isabelle grinned.

"I'm not worried, at all."

"Of course. I will try to pretend that I believe you."

"Isabelle, I'm-"

"Izzy." Isabelle corrected with an honest smile. "My friends call me Izzy."

" _Izzy_." Nora pronounced, glad to know that, even though she didn't say it directly, Isabelle considered her a friend. "I'm serious, why would I be worried? I hardly know your brother. Besides, I couldn't care less about who he likes, but I know for a fact that he doesn't like me and Clary, at all."

"You're right, he really doesn't like Clary." Isabelle admitted, shaking her head a little. "But I wouldn't go that far and say that he didn't like you either."

"Whatever." Nora shrugged it off and eyed herself in the mirror, smirking a little. "I think you just stole Simon's place and became my best friend, Izzy." Isabelle laughed playfully and moved to stand by her side. "His taste in clothes isn't as good as yours, I'm afraid."

"Well, with a body like yours, you could put on a trash bag and still look gorgeous." Isabelle pointed out.

"Look who's talking!"

"Yeah, you're totally right."

Nora was about to respond, but there was a heavy knock on the door and suddenly, Clary barged in, looking somewhat anxious and irked. The blonde and the brunette turned around and eyed her while smiling. "What's up, sister?"

"What's up is that I'm not feeling great about this dress." Clary responded, gesturing towards the black leather dress that Isabelle had left earlier in the infirmary so that she had something to wear other than an old shirt. "I mean, no offense, but this really isn't my thing."

"It's alright." Isabelle answered with a small smile playing on her red lips. "I'll search for something that might be less... revealing."

"Thank you!" Clary exclaimed, taking a deep breath in relief.

"So, where's Simon?" Nora asked, still analyzing her slender figure in the mirror.

"I left him with Alec and Jace." Clary answered, not too confident about that.

"Don't worry, Clary, he's in good hands with the boys." Isabelle commented with a laugh.

The brunette girl came back with a new pair of clothing, handing it to Clary. The redhead shrugged and started putting them on without a care. After she finished, Clary looked at herself in the mirror and frowned at her own image. "So, wait, let me guess... this is the least revealing thing you have?"

"So what? All the naughty bits are covered!"

"A little too much, if you ask me." Nora quipped, laughing at her sister's annoyed expression.

In that moment, Isabelle found out that Nora and Clary were even more different than what they thought to be. "So, huh, you, Alec, and Jace are what, like, family?"

"Translation, you want to know if Jace and I are a thing."

"Why would I care?"

"Because you do." Isabelle immediately said. "Don't worry. In every way, he's like my brother. Our parents took Jace in when he was ten. We trained together. Learned to fight side by side."

"A few days ago, all I had to worry about was getting into art school." Clary commented, starting to pace across Isabelle's bedroom. "And now..."

"Is this the part where I give you the pep talk about harnessing your inner Shadowhunter and accepting your true destiny?" Isabelle questioned, crossing her arms over her chest in an amused way. Clary chuckled and shook her head, while Nora simply eyed them both with curious eyes.

"Was that the pep talk?"

"Basically, yes." Isabelle nodded, laughing at Clary's puzzled expression. She got up from her bed and grabbed a strand of red hair, tucking it behind Clary's ear. "No matter what has happened, this is who you are."

"Not exactly feeling that, you know?"

"Yet." Isabelle added with a small smile, glancing over at Nora, who wore an amused smirk all over her face.

"So now we just have to find Dot." Nora countered.

"And track down and kill the most dangerous rogue Shadowhunter in history before he kills us all." Isabelle added, nodding while agreeing with the blonde girl.

"You two really know how to ruin a pep talk, don't you?" Clary chuckled lightly.

"Come on, let's go." Isabelle announced, pulling both the twins by the hand. Suddenly, the brunette girl stopped and glared at Clary with a teasing grin. "Oh, and by the way, Simon is kind of nerd-hot."

"Oh, God, please tell me you didn't just say that about Simon." Nora groaned, her eyes widening in surprise.

"It's true! What do you want me to say?"

"Anything, but that!" Nora exclaimed, somewhere between being disgusted and entertained.

"Well, it's true." Isabelle insisted, turning to face Clary. "Don't know how you've been _just_ friends with him all these years."

Nora snorted at Isabelle's statement, straining herself so she wouldn't burst out laughing. Oh, if only she knew...

* * *

While Clary spoke to Simon, Nora followed and helped Isabelle with everything she could as she messed around with the computers. Jace had been trying to find their mother too, but it was worthless, because Jocelyn's actual location was restricted and impossible to find. It was rather frustrating, trying everything to find their mother, and nothing seemed to do. Finally, Nora got tired of pacing across the room and took a seat, watching as Jace and Isabelle ran their hands through all the computers. "So, I'm thinking that maybe we should try another kind of approach to the problem."

"What are you thinking?" Jace inquired, glancing over at Nora, who sat still.

"If we find Dot, we find the Mortal Cup, and we might be one step closer to finding my mother." Nora answered.

"What do you think we're trying to do right now?" Jace snapped at her.

"If Dot is a warlock, I'm thinking that she knows how to hide herself from people like you." Nora threw back at him, jumping up from her seat to give him a dirty look. "Look, Clary and I both know her. I bet she's not very far from the antique shop. Or maybe she's at her apartment."

"Places like that are off the question. Valentine's scouts will be watching them closely."

"Right, but we still have to find her!"

"We'll find another way."

Nora growled in anger and crossed her arms over chest, whirling around to see Clary and Simon approaching the small group. Isabelle and Jace led them to where they were keeping their weapons. The black-haired girl placed her hand on the wall and, somehow, she managed to open the armory with ease. Isabelle ran her sleek fingers through a sword with evident desire, but Jace knocked her hand off ot it, which caused her to pout sadly. She looked around and smirked widely, noticing that Alec was making his way towards the small group. "Fifty bucks says he doesn't approve of this mission."

"I don't approve of this mission." Alec stated as he reached Nora's side, who simply ignored his burning gaze. Isabelle smirked triumphantly, while Nora widened her eyes in surprise. "I spoke with the Clave. They're sending Seelie scouts to search for Valentine, but they made it clear that Nora and the little girl cannot leave the premises."

Nora rolled her eyes but tried not to laugh. Isabelle had been right. Alec definitely didn't like Clary. "Hey, my name is not 'little girl', okay? I don't care what that Clave thing or you want, I'm going to find Dot."

"Alec, this warlock could have the answers we need." Jace countered. "With Valentine's people out there searching for Clary and Nora, they're not safe outside all on their own."

"Jace has a point." Isabelle agreed.

"You too, Izzy?" Alec snarled, obviously feeling betrayed by his own blood. "All right, since you seem to have all the answers, where do you suggest we search?"

"We should start at Dot's apartment in Greenpoint, and there's this thrift store that she-"

When Clary touched the necklace that their mother had given her, she immediately stopped talking mid sentence and gasped, her eyes wide open, but she wasn't really seeing them. It was like she was somewhere else, watching somebody else. A few moments later, she seemed to come back to them. Nora was starting to freak out, so she shook her shoulders and held up three fingers in front of her twin sister. "Hey, Clary, are you alright? Can you see me? How many fingers do you see?"

"Three, Nora." Clary replied in a dazed tone. "Three."

"What's wrong? What is it?" Jace asked at the same time, obviously worried by her strange reaction.

"I, huh... weirdly, I think I know where Dot is." Clary responded, blinking her green eyes a few times to make sure she was seeing straight.

"Great! I'll drive." Simon offered. Jace, Alec and Isabelle looked at him as if he was crazy. "What? Unless you have, like, a Shadowhunter-mobile or something?" Isabelle still smiled at him, but the rest remained silent. "You were kidding about the runes on the floor killing me, right?"

"Possibly." Jace replied with a dirty smirk on his face.

Jace and Alec eyed each other and laughed mockingly, both starting to walk away from the group. Nora rolled her eyes and threw her arm around Simon's shoulder, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry, those two are just trying to scare you. Don't mind them, they're idiots."


	4. City of Bones

"Pandemonium, here we are again."

Simon parked his van not too far away from the club, and Clary was the first to jump out. To say that the trip over there was awkward would be a complete understatement. Everyone sat in silence and eyed each other every once in a while. Simon still tried to lighten up the mood by putting on some music, but Alec immediately barked at him, telling him to 'silence that weird noise', his words exactly. Nora was enjoying spending time with those people a little more than she thought she would. Perhaps it was true, perhaps she truly belonged with them. If things had been different, Nora and Clary would have grown up in that sort of world as well. If Valentine hadn't become such an enormous threat to their family, maybe their childhood would have been different. Still, it gave her the chance to be a normal girl for a few years and for that, Nora was grateful. Obviously she wasn't trained to be a killing machine like Jace, Alec and Isabelle, and maybe she would pay dearly for that, but at least her life was based on something more, other than hunting monsters for a living. And yet, this new reality excited her more than it should.

The group followed Clary in circles as she sprinted through the streets that surrounded the night club. They turned a corner and Clary continued to walk fast, but she came to a sudden halt and gasped again, her hand grasping the necklace that Jocelyn had given her before she disappeared. Nora glanced down at her own jewel and gently stroked it, but nothing happened. "Oh, well, I guess it doesn't work with-"

Nora stopped mid sentence, widening her eyes as if she was seeing Dot right in front of her. The air became trapped in her lungs as she saw that two Shadowhunters had her trapped and were about to stab her to death with their seraph blades. She hadn't gotten into a lot of details about the place, but it seemed that they were standing just outside the club. "Okay, I do _not_ want to experience that again!" Clary and Nora glanced at each other as if they were asking one another what they had seen telepathically. Alec and Jace looked at them as if they were crazy and shrugged it off. The twins ended up nodding in agreement and continued running through those alleys, turning another corner before reaching the entrance of Pandemonium.

"Clary! Nora! Stop! Where are you going?" Jace inquired as he caught up with the twins.

"Two Shadowhunters, Jace, circle members!" Nora exclaimed almost out of breath.

"The same ones that came to our house and took our mom. They have Dot, they're gonna hurt her or kill her, we have to stop them!" Clary yelled as she ran inside the night club, once again with everyone folllowing right behind her.

When Nora entered Pandemonium, she was almost shocked to notice that it was utterly empty, cold and dirty. The floor was filled with small pieces of paper, cigarette ends and some other things that she really didn't want to find out about. The two sisters stopped running and glanced around, but there was no one in there except for them. Nora brought her hands up and ran them through her blonde hair, which left it completely tousled.

"Damn it!" Nora cursed under her breath. "She's not here. We're too late already. They have taken her!"

"She was just trying to help us." Clary stated, her voice breaking a little. Nora placed her hand over her sister's shoulder and tried to transmit her some sort of reassurance, but it didn't seem to work. She whirled around to face the rest of the group and paused for a second, gulping thickly. "And now she's gone!"

"I'm sorry." Simon uttered sorrowfully.

"You don't understand, Dot is like our big sister!" Clary exclaimed, her green eyes were absolutely furious and Jace could definitely see a fire in them.

"It's not safe here, we have to go back to the institute right now. "Alec declared with an emotionless voice.

"So, what now?" Clary questioned, almost on the verge of tears. "Valentine has our mom and Dot, and we're just gonna give up?" Clary's watery eyes trailed over Jace, waiting for him to say something. Unfortunately, everyone remained silent. "What about our memories? They can't just be gone!"

"There is another option." Jace said in a low voice.

"Don't even!"

"Absolutely not!"

"I'm not afraid of the Silent Brothers." Jace fired back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And who the hell are the Silent Brothers?" Nora asked with an impatient voice. "Are they some kind of monks or whatever?"

"They're Shadowhunters with superior powers." Jace corrected, giving her a pointed look.

"Who possess the ability to recover memories." Isabelle explained, frowning in obvious preoccupation.

"A process that can also kill you, so there's that." Alec shrugged it off, narrowing his eyes in contempt as he eyed Clary.

Nora raised her eyebrows and stepped right in front of Alec. " _So there's that_? Just how cold are you?"

"Your bedside manner is abysmal." Simon added.

Alec ignored them both and turned to glare sharply at Jace. "We've broken at least eighteen Clave rules and now you want to go to the City of Bones? There is no way.  
I won't allow it."

"This isn't our choice to make." Jace responded, gesturing towards the twins. "It's theirs."

"You can't ask Nora and Clary to do this!" Isabelle protested. "They don't know what they're facing! I'm sorry, guys, but you're not prepared."

"If anyone can tell me another way to recover our memories and still get the answers we need, I'm listening." Clary snapped, placing both her hands on her hips. They all looked at each other, but no one seemed to have a better solution. "That settles it, then."

"See? I told you these two were tough."

Having said that, Jace started walking away from the stunned group. Clary tried to go after him, but Nora grasped her hand to pull her back, forcing her to stay. "Wait, are you sure about this?" The blonde girl inquired, a nervous look in her eyes. "Alec and Izzy might be right. We might die."

"They said 'might', not that we will. That's a risk we'll have to take in order to find mom and Dot, Nora." Clary shot back, tearing her own arm from her twin sister's grip before walking away in a hurry, only to catch up with Jace.

Nora was appalled by her sister's strange behavior. Clary had never acted that way with her, not even once. She huffed and rolled her eyes. If that was how she wanted to play it, Nora would certainly deliver it to her. "I hope this doesn't get us all killed. I really enjoy being alive."

Isabelle shook her head and threw an arm around Nora's shoulders, trying to make her feel better. "So do I, Nora."

* * *

After another embarrassingly quiet ride, the group eventually arrived at the place where the Silent Brothers were and, this time, Nora was the first to jump out of Simon's van. The only thing lighting up the way ahead was a small, dying fire. Nora stumbled upon a large stone and nearly fell with her face on the dirty ground, but someone's hands grasped her waist and kept her steady. Her cheeks turned into a burning red when she twirled around and noticed that it was Alec Lightwood who had saved her from making even more a fool of herself. It was only in corny movies that those things happened, but Nora found herself enjoying the way his hands touched her waist, since his touch seemed to send some sort of spark rushing through her entire system. Alec was closer to her than what she thought him to be, so she could practically feel his cold breath on her face as they were both paralyzed for a few moments. Alec couldn't even force himself to look away from the blonde girl. He wasn't sure if she was blushing really hard or if it was only the fire's brightness reflecting on her fair skin. "Uh, thank you." Nora finally managed to say, though her words sounded strained.

"You should probably watch where you step on." Alec replied, snapping out of his daze. His cold demeanor took over once again as he tried to mask his thoughts and unwanted feelings. "Next time I might not be around to catch you if you stumble."

"Always so charming." Nora pointed out with a sarcastic smirk.

"Don't you two start." Jace warned them both, rolling his eyes.

Isabelle watched her older brother's reaction from up close and smirked playfully. Of course, she had been right; Alec was rude to almost everyone, and maybe he was crude to Nora as well, but unlike with Clary, he seemed willing to help her, and she was starting to grow on him. Everytime she caught her brother glancing at the blonde girl, there was a certain softness in his eyes, and he wanted to hide it desperately. In their line of work, distractions could be dangerous and nearly fatal, so it seemed that he was trying to avoid something from happening, before it even had the chance to begin. Isabelle couldn't blame him, though. She had promised herself that she would only have a serious relationship if she found someone she truly wanted to spend the rest of her life with. By the time it happens, she will have plenty of interesting stories to remember. Isabelle found herself enjoying the thought of those two together and smiled deviously, shaking her head a little.

"Yeah, this place isn't creepy." Simon commented, moving to stand behind Isabelle, who grinned at him. "Not at all."

"Don't tell me you're afraid." Isabelle chuckled lightly.

"Are you kidding me?" Simon practically exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in a rather dramatic way. "I was born afraid! And that sounded a lot better in my head..."

"Yeah, and it probably should've stayed there." Nora countered, patting her best friend's shoulder playfully.

"Thanks, Nora. Always so helpful." Simon replied through gritted teeth.

"Let's check it out." Alec announced, tired of hearing Simon's voice.

Clary was right behind Jace, but he stopped her from moving any further. "Wait here a minute. I wanna see if it's safe."

Alec, Isabelle and Jace continued walking until they were standing a few meters away from Clary, Nora and Simon. The blonde girl rolled her eyes instantly, noticing that they were whispering about them. "Well, they could make it a bit less obvious." Nora smirked and raised her voice, glaring sharply at the trio. "Because I can definitely hear what they're saying right now." They stopped whispering and gazed at her, but she only smiled, turning around to face her sister and her best friend.

"Why are we doing this? We don't even know these people." Simon suddenly said.

"Not that again, Simon. I thought we had been through this already." Nora groaned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"They're strangers to us, Nora!" Simon nearly shouted. "And all I care about is you and Clary! I don't want you guys to get hurt."

"We appreciate your concern, Simon, we truly do, but we need to do this." Clary agreed, throwing her arms around Simon's neck to bring him closer to her. "This is our only chance at finding our mom, you have to understand. I just wish she had trusted us enough to tell us about all this."

"Nora, Clary, how are you two not ultra freaked out by all of this?" Simon asked, still frowning in confusion.

"I guess I just always felt like there was something missing. Some void I couldn't quit explain." Clary answered honestly. "Things are finally starting to make sense."

"Whether we like it or not, they're our people. If things had been different, we would have been raised in that environment as well, Simon." Nora stated, trying to make him see things more clearly. "Sooner or later, we would've ended up getting sucked into this world anyway. We can't escape our destiny."

"See? My thoughts exactly. This is who we are meant to be. There is no turning back now, Simon." Clary added, nodding in agreement. "But none of it is going to matter unless we get our mom back."

"Then let's do that." He responded, his eyes mainly focused on Clary's beautiful smile and soft lips.

Clary grinned, obviously clueless of how much Simon seemed to love her. Nora shook her head and turned around. Some things were simply unbearable to watch, no matter what. Jace approached them and bumped shoulders with Nora as she walked away from them only to join Isabelle, who stood back a little, waiting for her. Once the blonde girl reached her side, the two locked arms and followed Alec as he led the way. Clary observed the two girls and huffed, some sort of jealousy bubbling inside of her. In her opinion, Nora was doing that to annoy her, but it wasn't true. Nora enjoyed Isabelle's company quite a lot, and since Clary couldn't get her head out of Jace's ass, she ended up pushing her own sister away. It wasn't long before they reached the entrance of the City of Bones. To say that the place didn't scare the hell out of Nora would have been a huge lie, but she hid her fear behind a strained smile.

"Which one of you is going to go inside?" Jace suddenly asked, turning around to gaze at the twins.

"I will." Nora answered immediately.

"No!" Clary argued, grabbing her sister's arm with evident tenderness. "Let me."

"What if you get killed in there? I'm not risking that, Clary." Nora shot back, forcing her to let go of her arm.

"I'm going in, Nora, don't try to stop me."

Nora appeared to be battling a war within herself. She would definitely die for the people she loved the most, but in that same moment, she realized that Clary couldn't be persuaded. The twins were two different sides of the same coin, but they completed each other and if one died, a piece of the other would die as well. And yet, Nora knew that Clary was too stubborn to perish, so that seemed to calm her nerves a little. "If you get killed in there, Clary, I swear to God I will burn that freaking City of Bones to the ground, you hear me? You better not die."

Imagining her twin sister burning down the whole place amused Clary and it clearly showed how much she cared about her. In fact, she was aware that her sister would keep her promise if such thing happened. "I can handle this, Nora."

"That really doesn't make me feel better, you know?"

"I know, but you have to trust me."

"You have to understand, Clary, the Silent Brothers aren't like us." Jace interjected, ruining their sweet moment.

Clary turned to face Blondie with a sly smirk on her lips. "They lack your charm and superior people skills?"

"Right, his charm..." Nora repeated in a not so convincing way, while Alec and Isabelle tried to hide their amused grins.

"Most people do." Jace responded as he glared sharply at Nora and rolled his eyes, which made her beautiful smile grow even bolder. "The Brothers communicate without using words, using just their thoughts."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Clary uttered, frowning in confusion.

"Don't let their silence fool you." Jace said warningly, his eyes obviously showing his concern for her. "They'll hold the Soul Sword to your head, and with its blade, carve the truth from your mind. If you're not strong enough, you will die."

"I take it back." Clary commented. "That sounds level ten bad."

"Okay, you are definitely not going." Nora declared. "Not on my watch, honey."

"Nora, I have to do this."

"No, you really don't!" Nora exclaimed, running her hands through her hair rather nervously. "I can do it."

"I'm going, and you're not going to stop me."

"Clary, I'm not letting-"

"Nora, stop! You can't change my mind!" Clary shouted at her twin sister. As soon as she realized what she had done, Clary regretted it immediately. Nora hated being yelled at, it was one of the things that instantly made her back away from someone. Clary sighed and shook her head, but Nora huffed and rolled her eyes at her. The damage had already been done.

"Fine. Suit yourself." Nora replied with a cold tone, taking a few steps back.

"Clary, you should know, the pain will be excruciating." Jace warned her. "Nora is right, you don't have to-"

"I will do anything. Walk through fire, battle demons, whatever it takes. I have to get our mom back." Clary shot back, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. "I can't, I won't lose her. Are we clear?"

"You won't." Jace said, caressing her cheek rather gently. "We won't."

"I can do this." Clary stated, trying to bring some confidence to herself.

"Yeah, you can! You're Clary freaking Fray! You can do anything!" Simon chimed in, throwing his arm around the redhead twin's shoulders.

Clary laughed approvingly and grinned. Simon started walking towards the creepy entrance to the City of Bones, but Jace slapped his hand on his chest, stopping him from moving any further. "Alright, hold up."

"Surprise, surprise!" Simon exclaimed, throwing Jace a dirty look. "No mundanes allowed, just like in the training room, right? Wrong! I've seen every horror movie ever made and the funny best friend who gets left behind is always a dead man!"

"You're not that funny." Jace argued. "But, by all means, go ahead. Of course, the minute you enter, you will die."

"Problem is, now I don't trust you!" Simon yelled back at him.

"He's not lying." Alec uttered, unconsciously taking a step closer to Nora.

" _Now_. He was before." Isabelle added with an amused smile.

"The rune energy in the City of Bones will kill any mundane who dares to enter, so, please, go ahead." Alec explained, offering Simon a cold look. Nora gave him a roll of eyes but he just shrugged at her, pretending he didn't care. He definitely didn't like mundanes, especially the overly talkative ones.

"The Brothers creep me out." Isabelle sighed, turning to glare at Jace. "I'll mind the mundane."

"Your sacrifice is noted, Izzy." Jace snapped, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"Talk about sacrifice, I'm missing a financial analysis class." Simon commented with a regretful look on his face.

Alec growled internally and backed away from the group. "I can't be here anymore, so, Jace, I'm gonna mind the perimeter."

Nora's blue eyes followed his dark silhouette as he disappeared in the distance, and when she turned around to glance at her twin sister and her best friend, she noticed that Isabelle wore a sly smirk on her lips while her eyes examined Nora's expression with great care. She tried to ignore it and watched as Simon threw his arms around Clary's neck to bring the redhead closer to a hug. They both sighed and held onto each other for as long as possible, and Nora could see just how much Simon enjoyed to hold her twin sister in his arms.

"I don't wanna leave you and Nora here." Clary murmured in his ear, causing his whole body to tingle with the sensation of her face so close to his.

"Go be a badass Shadowhunter, alright? Get your memories back, save your mother." Simon smiled softly. "I'll be right here with Nora and Isabelle, guarding the entrance to hell. Don't worry about us, we'll be just fine."

Clary nodded with her head and then approached her twin sister, wrapping her arms around her torso, even though Nora seemed quite hesitant, given the fact that Clary had practically screamed at her. "I'm sorry, Nora, I know I shouldn't have yelled at you. I know how much you hate it, I'm so, so sorry. I promise everything will be fine. I will be fine, all you have to do is wait here, alright?"

"Yeah." Nora finally agreed, her voice breaking a little. "Go ahead, but don't get yourself killed. You know I'll be really pissed, so don't even dare."

"I won't." Clary chuckled softly.

"Clary, you don't keep the Silent Brothers waiting." Jace suddenly said, causing Nora to roll her eyes at him for the hundredth time.

"Alright, just be careful. Go on, you got this." Nora encouraged her twin sister, hugging her one last time before she ran after Jace.

"They're getting to be quite the team." Isabelle uttered as she noticed the way that Jace looked at Clary when she walked through the gates. Once they were out of sight, she turned to face Simon with a mischievous grin on her face. "Amusing."

"No, not really." Simon grimaced, arching his eyebrows in distrust. Oh, he was certainly not amused. "I really don't see it."

"Says the jealous man." Nora snickered, shaking her head a little.

"I'm not jealous." Simon replied in a defensive manner. "Like, at all!"

"Right, of course you aren't." Isabelle's voice was obviously contaminated with irony.

"My mistake, sorry." Nora continued, her smirk growing even more daring.

Isabelle didn't seem worried about the fact that Simon was in love with Clary, in fact she even smiled brightly at him. Indeed, she enjoyed a challenge, and the mundane boy would certainly mean a lot of work. Surely, he was also good to pass the time, and Isabelle actually enjoyed his company, even when he babbled nonstop. "Oh, my God, two against one is just not fair. Let's forget we ever talked about this, alright?"

"Suit yourself, honey." Nora replied, glancing around as if she was looking for someone. "We won't torture you anymore."

Isabelle immediately knew who she was searching for, and she couldn't help but giggle at the blonde girl's expression. "Well, well, well. You wouldn't be, by any chance, looking for my older brother, now would you, Nora?"

"What? What could possibly make you think that?" Nora's blue eyes widened immediately, and her cheeks became flushed.

"The fact that you're glancing around while he's not here, well, it kind of hints towards that." Simon pointed out, earning a seductive smile from Isabelle.

"Oh, please, do you know just how ridiculous you sound right now? I mean, come on!" Nora laughed nervously, shaking her head a little.

Isabelle noticed that Nora was starting to get red-faced and embarrassed, so she decided to drop the subject. Still, Simon chose to press the matter even further, given the fact that Nora had many times insisted on discussing his mad love for Clary with him. It was his turn to torture her, in a playful manner, of course. "It doesn't sound ridiculous at all, it actually seems pretty accurate to me." If looks could kill, Simon would have been dead and buried already, since Nora's eyes almost burned holes in his forehead. That was when he decided he needed to stop taunting her, or else she'd hurt him pretty badly. "Jeez, alright, don't give me that look! I will zip it!"

"Thank you." Nora grinned sweetly.

Nora stood back a little, realizing that she was going to be the third wheel for a while. She leaned against a pole and crossed her arms, watching as Isabelle and Simon talked in hushed tones. She was laughing internally, wanting to mock Simon once more. He was practically drooling at Isabelle, who smiled seductively at him and didn't seem scared of touching here and there. "Uh, Simon, you have something in the corners of your mouth..." Simon glanced over at the blonde girl and blushed hard, giving her an annoyed look. "I think you're drooling a little too much, honey."

Isabelle giggled and shook her head in an amused way, while Simon rolled his eyes and huffed. "You're so mean."

Nora gave her a beaming smile. "I know."

"The perimeter is secure."

Nora nearly jumped when she twirled around and saw Alec approaching them. He seemed a little calmer, this time. She leaned back against the cold cement and tried to look at something else, even though she could feel him coming closer and closer to her. She didn't have a clue as to why she was behaving like this, especially when she was anywhere near Alec, and truthfully, she didn't want to find out. Some things were better left untouched. "So, we're safe?" Nora inquired, trying to avoid looking at the raven-haired boy.

"For the time being, yes." Alec replied simply.

"Good! So, is cracking someone's mind open supposed to take this long?" Simon decided to ask, turning around to face Alec. "Maybe we, or you, should go check?"

"Jace has it covered." Alec answered, folding his arms across his chest.

"Take my word for it." Isabelle muttered in Simon's ear, her seductive voice causing him to shiver. "The Silent Brothers are quite unpleasant."

"That's not helping, not at all." Simon's voice quivered as he became even more nervous, given the fact that her face was only a few inches away from his. "What if Clary can't handle the Brothers? What does that-"

"It literally never stops talking." Alec commented, rolling his eyes for the millionth time.

"Hey! Simon is not an 'it'. You can't talk to him like that." Nora said, finally turning to face Alec with a determined look in her blue eyes.

"Is he always so charming?" Simon asked sarcastically.

"Firstborn." Isabelle explained with a small smile on her lips. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

Nora huffed, thinking that being the firstborn didn't grant him the right to be so rude to other people. That was just an excuse for being an asshole. "I feel his pain. Only son. My mother wants me to be a CPA." Simon explained, looking into Isabelle's dark brown eyes as if he was getting lost in them.

"And you? What do you want?" Isabelle asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Nora chuckled, noticing how anxious and tense Simon was every time she was near him. "Me? Uh, well, I'm in a band."

"Yeah? What type of music?" Isabelle questioned, placing a sleek finger over his mouth to keep him quiet. "Let me guess. Indie rock?"

"Yeah." Simon nodded eagerly.

"Got anything on your phone?"

"I do! We recorded our last set. We killed it! It's... uh, I left my phone back in the van."

"Let's go get it, then."

Nora's eyes widened considerably when she saw that the two were beginning to walk away from her and Alec. Isabelle was holding onto Simon's hand while he seemed surprised, a little bit dazed even. Alec immediately grabbed his sister's arm, forcing her to stand back. He was beyond horrified by the fact that his sister was going for a _walk_ with that annoying mundane. "Hey, where is it going?"

"We'll be right back." Isabelle responded with a sly smirk. Alec raised his eyebrows and sent her a look that clearly meant ' _really? Are you seriously interested in a mundane who can't keep his mouth shut for even a few seconds? I'm shocked_ ', and she laughed lightly at him. "What? He passes the time."

"I can hear you guys, you know?" Simon countered, glaring sharply at Alec.

Isabelle simply pushed the boy onwards and giggled when she saw her older brother's disgusted expression. Nora didn't say anything, even though she was dying to make a few sarcastic remarks. She decided that she would keep those to herself, or else she would embarrass Simon even more. She leaned her head against the pole and sighed deeply, thinking that if she had to wait any longer for Clary and Jace, she would certainly fall asleep while still standing. Alec removed his hand from the wall and started pacing around impatiently. They were both restless and aching to leave that creepy place.

"Simon was right about one thing. Is this supposed to take so long?"

"I don't know." Alec answered, taking a deep breath. "It probably won't take much longer."

"I hope not." Nora commented, groaning in exasperation. "It really hasn't been that long, to be honest, but I'm tired as hell and I just want to go home."

"And you can't." Alec concluded, holding her gaze for a few moments before she turned away from him, breaking the eye contact.

"Exactly."

Alec stopped marching around as something occurred to him. He eyed Nora carefully and opened his mouth a few times, definitely wanting to tell her something, but not knowing how to begin. She seemed oblivious to his anxiousness, given the fact that she nearly had her eyes closed. "Nora?"

"Wait, so, I'm Nora, not 'little girl' too?"

"No, that's your sister."

"Okay, very smooth." Nora snickered, smiling genuinely at him. "What is it?"

"Do you remember what you said to me when you were under the effect of demon venom?"

Well, that certainly forced her to stay awake, as her eyes widened in trepidation. She thought about many things that she could say to him, but playing dumb seemed like her best option, in that moment. After all, things were already strange enough, and if she told him that she thought he was utterly hot, things would certainly get worse. "Uh, no. I don't remember anything about that. What exactly did I say to you?"

"Well, you asked me if I was an angel." Alec replied. Nora shuddered, her cheeks beginning to burn up. "And that you loved my _tattoos_."

"Oh, God." Nora breathed. "And that was just it, right?"

"I also recall you saying I was hot."

"Oh, sweet mother of God." Nora stuttered, knowing he had been right when he said she would regret having said such thing. "Well, you know how it goes, the venom was taking over and I kinda wasn't seeing straight anymore, everything was just a blur."

For the first time ever, Nora saw Alec Lightwood chuckling softly at something she had said. She hadn't known him for long but she had gathered that he rarely smiled, much less laughed. That certainly made her smile too, because his laugh was genuine, something like she had never seen before. In that moment, a small but burning spark sped through her entire body, and she realized that she harbored a strange but good feeling. She could almost swear that Alec felt it too, since the look in his eyes could practically show that. Before the raven-haired boy could come up with an answer, Clary and Jace walked through the gates, both of them wearing deeply upset expressions.

Alec immediately approached them and began questioning the pair. "What happened? What did you find out?"

Nora sprinted towards her twin sister and brought her into her arms, watching her through heavily worried eyes. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt?"

"I'm fine." Clary answered softly.

The redhead glanced over at Jace and her lower lip quivered. She had been crying, and was on the verge of doing it again. "Valentine is their father."

Alec's chin nearly dropped to the ground. Somehow, he looked hurt and betrayed, given the fact that he was beginning to sympathise with Nora. "Wait a minute. You're telling me that these two girls show up out of nowhere and they're both Valentine's daughters? Did it occur to you that they might be spies? That this might be part of their plan?"

"That's enough, Alec!" Jace nearly shouted.

"Surely it makes a lot of sense, Alec! That's why we decided to come here to this freaking City of Bones or whatever, so that you could _also_ find out that, apparently, Valentine's our father! Do you honestly think that if we were spies, we would let you know about our true identity?" Nora's voice was soft like silk, but deadly like poison. She was truly offended by the fact that he even doubted her. "I mean, come on! What the hell?"

"Nora's totally right! Do you think we planned for our mom to get kidnapped? Or for Dot to be taken? Or to have a giant sword dangle over my head and find out that our father is one of the most dangerous people in the world? Really?" Clary continued, her green eyes were puffy but she wasn't going to let her tears roll down, again. "Where's Simon?" Isabelle came running towards them, but she was alone. Nora glanced around, and Simon was nowhere to be found. "Where's Simon?"

"I told him to stay in the van." Isabelle answered softly. "I've searched everywhere."

"He's gone?" Clary exclaimed furiously.

"I can't find him." Isabelle said, shaking her head a little.

"You were supposed to protect him!" Clary shouted at Isabelle, pushing past her. "Simon! Simon!"

"These mundanes are killing me." Jace growled.

"We're not mundanes." Nora snarled at him. "Okay, maybe Simon is, but that doesn't make him less important."

Before Jace could answer her, the blonde girl sprinted towards her twin sister and followed her, both of them calling out their best friend's name. Nora reached the van and nearly jumped inside, her eyes analyzing every inch and every detail until she realized there was no sign of him. "Simon!" Nora screamed his name, over and over again, until someone replied. Unfortunately, it wasn't him.

"Is that the mundane's name?" The group whipped around and saw two people standing on what held the bridge up. There was a girl, who strangely was strong enough to hold Simon's body upside down by his feet, and a man in a fancy suit. "I'm afraid Simon's coming with us!"

"No, no! He's not a part of this!" Clary yelped as she started running towards them, though Jace held her back.

"And it would be my pleasure to kill you unless you return him." Jace threatened with an irritated voice.

"Careful. You would be violating the accords." Alec pointed out, shrugging his shoulders. Jace and Nora glared angrily at him before turning to look at the people who held Simon in such a delicate position.

"I'm afraid your sidekick is quite right! The Night Children have broken no laws." The man answered, gazing upon them like they were mere ants. His eyes lingered on the blonde girl who stood next to the raven-haired boy, and he couldn't help but notice just how tasty she seemed to be. A sly smirk crawled out of his lips as he thought of something. Nora glanced up at them in pure disgust, finally realizing who and what they were. By 'night children', he meant vampires. She shuddered, thinking of what they could do to Simon if they didn't save him from their clutches. "We're negotiating. The mundane, unharmed, in exchange for the Mortal Cup. And perhaps you should hand us over the tasty little blonde you've got down there with you." Jace and Nora eyed each other, obviously puzzled, given the fact that they both had golden hair. "I meant the girl."

"Oh, yeah, right! Keep dreaming!" Nora shot back, folding her arms across her chest.

The male vampire laughed deviously, showing them his white teeth. "We'll see about that. Now, the clock is ticking! Tick-tock, people!"

"Clary! Nora!" Simon still managed to shout out his best friends' names, but they were all powerless. In the next moment, the vampires were gone, and so was Simon.

"No!"


	5. Save the Mundane

Nora barged inside the institute with Clary and the others following right behind her. She was beyond angry, she was absolutely furious. Clary was pissed off as well, but nothing like Nora, not like her twin sister. The blonde girl only stopped walking when they reached the room that was filled with high tech, and even then, she couldn't stop moving around, trying to keep herself busy as her mind wandered to dangerous places, such as to what the vampires could be doing to her best friend in that precise moment. Everything had happened so fast, she couldn't even think straight anymore. Nora just wanted to find Simon alive and unharmed. The rest would come later. She only wanted Simon to be safe and away from those bloodsucking creatures. Nora finally understood why she never enjoyed Twilight or the Vampire Diaries, and it was all explained to her now. Freaking vampires! The blonde twin growled and continued sauntering around the room, never stopping until she was forced to do so by a certain raven-haired boy.

"Will you quit doing that?" Alec snapped at her, grasping both her shoulders to keep her in place. "It's getting quite annoying."

Nora grunted and tried to shove him away from her, but it was pretty much similar to fighting against a wall: Alec wouldn't even budge, and he didn't seem able to let her go either. "Oh, I am so sorry if I'm annoying you! You see, my best friend just got kidnapped by freaking vampires, but everything's okay, just as long as I don't get on your nerves!"

Alec narrowed his eyes at her, not entirely sure if he had heard her correctly. "That's about enough."

"No, actually, I don't think it's-"

"Nora!" Jace yelled as he pushed the blonde girl against the nearest wall, staring down at her with threatening eyes. "Shut the hell up and listen. Just listen."

"Jace, stop!" Clary yelped, wanting to drag him away from her twin sister. "Let her go!"

"That wasn't needed." Alec countered, causing everyone to look at him, certainly shocked by the unexpected words that escaped his mouth.

"You know what? I really don't understand! How can Shadowhunters be better than what you people call mundanes?" Clary questioned, a certain aggressiveness evident in her voice. It didn't even matter if Clary thought that Jace was handsome, alluring and mysterious, because her family would always stand above all else, and she hadn't appreciated what he had done to her twin sister, even if he was just trying to make her listen to what they had to say.

"Because we protect humans." Isabelle answered softly, trying to keep things quiet.

"Yeah, you're right. Humans! You protect humans, but you left Simon all alone in the van." Clary pointed out. "Great job, guys! You rock."

Alec rolled his eyes at Clary, once again remembering why he disliked that redhead girl so much, even though he still barely knew her. "There is some truth to the idea that human beings should have a modicum of common sense."

"Alec, not now." Isabelle snapped at her older brother, her eyes softening a little as they landed on Nora, who still looked pretty pissed off.

"Look, they won't do anything to Simon." Jace intervened, placing his hand over the redhead girl's shoulder as he tried to soothe her. "They just wanted to draw you both out. They want the Cup and they think that you or your sister might have it."

"Why do they even think that?" Nora exhaled, running her hands through her golden hair, utterly frustrated.

"I mean, it doesn't make any sense! What, our mom lies to us our entire lives except, 'oh, by the way, there's this magic cup I hid on, like, the planet Bongo, but don't tell anyone'! What are we supposed to do now?" Clary asked, nearly running out of breath as she spoke very quickly.

"We have to report to the Clave." Alec stated with no emotion in his voice.

"Great." Jace countered dryly.

"They have to know we have learned about Valentine." Alec continued, starting to walk towards the computers with everyone following right behind him.

"What, that he's our real father? Is that what you're going to tell them?" Nora inquired, chasing after him. "Great, that's just awesome."

"Yeah, you go ahead, tell them!" Clary snarled, leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. "What good does that do to Simon?"

"Clary, it's all connected." Jace clarified. "The vampires want the Cup."

"Why?" Clary inquired, obviously not following his train of thought. "It makes new Shadowhunters."

"Nobody wants Valentine forming an army loyal to himself." Alec grumbled, his eyes lingering on Nora for a little while, until she saw him staring at her and glanced away rather quickly. Watching them exchanging this kind of glances was utterly amusing for Isabelle, since she knew how awkward Alec was with girls. Strange thing was, he was obviously interested, and never once in her life had she seen Alec interested in anything but his family or his work, until Nora came along.

"Plus, it controls demons." Isabelle added, watching her brother closely.

"They'll propose a trade. Simon for the Cup." Jace concluded.

"You're not making this any easier, you know? The vampires will trade Simon for the Cup and Valentine will trade our mother for the Cup. Do you not see the problem here?" Nora exclaimed, swallowing nervously before placing both her hands on her waist. "We can't choose between them, it's not fair."

"You don't see it, do you? Either way, Nora and I lose someone we love." Clary added, taking a deep breath. Jace, Alec and Isabelle glanced at each other briefly, not entirely sure of what to say to them. "What if we just toss it up in the air and let them fight it out among themselves?"

"So, this doesn't matter to you?" Alec inquired, clearly ready to launch himself into a discussion with the redhead twin.

"Yes, of course it matters! Listen, when you saved our lives, we put our trust in you." Clary said, her voice sounding a little bit calmer now. "Now, I need you to put your trust in us. We can't just turn into what you are overnight."

"It's true. They were raised as mundanes." Isabelle countered, flashing a small smile to Nora, who nodded in agreement.

"What are you, their spokesman now?" Alec snapped at his sister, who rolled her eyes in return.

"We don't need a spokesman, we need a freaking plan to save Simon, our mom, and Dot." Nora fired back at him, raising her eyebrows challengingly. " _And_ , to keep the Mortal Cup as far away as possible from Valentine's reach."

"Precisely." Clary agreed, starting to walk towards the computers. "I mean, come on. Look at all this stuff, all these screens. Can any of this help us find Simon? Where is he, anyway? Some kind of crypt in Transylvania?"

"Actually, no." Jace shook his head, glancing over at Alec and Isabelle as he followed the redhead twin around the room. The small group reached a long table and Nora immediately glided into the seat next to the raven-haired boy. "That was Camille's outfit, right? They're locals."

"They're at the Hotel DuMort, down in Gansevoort Street." Isabelle informed, taking a seat next to Nora.

"Hotel DuMort, really?" Nora snorted, rolling her eyes at that. Vampires and their dry sense of humor. "Hotel of death. So very original."

"That doesn't even matter, Nora. We came back here, why? We have to go there! Let's go, now! Come on!" Clary demanded, forcing her twin sister to stand. Nora was completely motionless, watching her sister through calm and unsettling eyes. "We have to go, Nora! Now!"

"We need a Clave resolution for that." Alec informed her.

"Look, Clary, I wanna save Simon just as much as you do, but we need to be smart about this." Nora added, folding her arms across her chest. "I mean, come on, think about it: if we walk in there without weapons to take them down, they'll probably eat us alive. Or _drink_ us, I don't know."

"The five of us can't declare war on the vampires all by ourselves." Isabelle agreed, noticing how Clary's jaw clenched at the fact that Nora was siding with them.

"And like Nora said, we can't react without considering our options. Downworlders are slaves to their impulses, we're not." Alec countered, watching Nora from up close. The blonde girl nodded and smiled lightly, taken aback by the fact that he had agreed with her, for once.

"Alec, you can't just jump on all the Downworlders." Isabelle scolded her brother, though she looked quite amused.

"Oh, that's right. Seelies have their charms, apparently." Alec smirked deviously.

"Right?" Jace's eyes shifted between Isabelle and Alec as the two boys laughed mockingly at the brunette girl.

"Seelies?" Clary repeated, frowning in confusion.

"Like faeries. The Fair Folk. Add pixies, nixies, elves, anybody half-angel, half-demon. It's pretty much a catch-all term." Jace explained, while Clary shook her head, sending her twin sister a look that clearly meant _'these people are crazy, I can't take this_ '. Nora simply nodded in agreement and raised both her hands, throwing her a look that obviously meant ' _what are we to do? They kinda are our people, I guess_ '. Sometimes, they didn't need to speak through words, the look in their eyes was enough to communicate among themselves. No one seemed to notice their exchange of glances, and even if they did, they'd think they were somewhat crazy and probably wouldn't understand it. If Simon had been there, he would have said that it was just their thing, since they were twins.

"Izzy can tell you all about them. She's got a thing." Alec quipped, laughing at his sister's annoyed expression.

"We've all got our things, don't we?" Isabelle glared sharply at her brother, gesturing towards Nora. Alec immediately stopped laughing and rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I can't listen to this." Clary uttered, whirling around to start walking away from them. "Simon's been kidnapped by vampires. I guess I'll just take care of it myself. Nora, are you coming?"

"Obviously. I wouldn't let you walk into a vampire hotel all by yourself, you jerk." Nora shot back, approaching her twin sister rather quickly.

"Clary, Nora, wait. You're gonna get yourselves killed!" Jace shouted at both of them, but they didn't seem to care about it. "Clary, Nora! Simon too."

And just like that, they stopped walking.

"Alright, then help us." Nora said through gritted teeth, whipping around to glare sharply at him.

"While we consider other options, our best friend is suffering." Clary snarled, narrowing her eyes at Alec's emotionless expression, who growled in response. "Is that something that Shadowhunters understand or am I just being a mundane?"

"Clary's right. They made the first move. We're gonna take care of this ourselves, right now." Jace finally gave in, gesturing for them to come closer.

"This is a bad idea." Alec declared.

"What? Have you got a better one?" Jace immediately answered, watching him carefully. "Look, the vampires broke the Accords. They kidnapped a mundie. That's a big no-no. The Clave will give us a lecture and then they'll be glad we did it. Come on."

"Hard to argue with that." Isabelle remarked, nodding in agreement.

"Even if we went ahead, I don't see how we get out of here without having to explain where we're going." Alec disagreed, placing both his hands on the table. "We need weapons, and we can't let anyone see us get them."

"I know where to get what we need."

* * *

"Oh, this is just marvelous. We're going to a graveyard, in the middle of the night. I can't tell you how many times I have thought of making a joke about Buffy and the cemeteries." Nora countered sarcastically after she jumped out of Simon's van, followed by her twin sister, Isabelle and the boys. "Probably the only show about vampires that I actually enjoyed."

"Yeah, what's not to enjoy about it?" Isabelle added, sharing a knowing smile with the blonde girl. "I mean, especially Riley, and Spike."

Alec rolled his eyes at the two girls. "Seriously? This is not the time to discuss that, you know?"

"Sorry, Mr. Grumpy." Nora muttered under her breath, looking away from him when she noticed that he had heard what she said. "Anyway, whose grave are we going to rob today? I can't believe I just said that."

"Mary Milligan, born January 10th, 1802." Isabelle answered, her dark brown eyes glued to her phone. "Died January 10th, 1878."

"Lovely." Nora commented dryly.

"Alright. Alec, let's go." Jace said, throwing a glance towards the raven-haired boy's way.

"Wait, what are we looking for?" Clary inquired, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Cache of weapons." Jace responded, his large hand brushing against Clary's small one for a short moment. Nora saw the small contact and arched her eyebrows in surprise, sharing a knowing smirk with Isabelle, who had also seen it. "Stashed here with Mrs. Milligan."

Clary's eyes met Jace's momentarily before both looked away quickly. "Why are there Shadowhunter weapons in a churchyard?"

"Because all of the ancient religions recognized demons." Isabelle chimed in, analyzing her finger nails with great care. "Or at least they used to."

"They forgot about the threat because we've been here to protect them." Alec added with a roll of eyes. "Typical mundane failure of imagination."

Isabelle stopped sauntering around and narrowed her eyes at her older brother. "Are you saying we did too good a job?" Alec was about to respond, but Isabelle wasn't done with him yet. Her brother despised mundanes and Downworlders so much and sometimes it bothered her a lot. "You can't just let up, can you?"

Jace decided to intervene, before they started fighting. "You know what? Alec, why don't you go check out by the angel?" Alec growled something under his breath, but followed Jace's instructions. "We couldn't gear up at the Institute, but we know our ancestors left a cache around here someplace. We'll find it."

"Great! I'm really looking forward to stab a few vampires to their second and final deaths." Nora commented, her blue eyes analyzing Alec's dark figure as he stood by the angel statue. Isabelle chuckled at the blonde girl's enthusiasm relatively to violence, while Clary smiled softly, a sad expression on her face.

"I always wondered where my dad was buried." Clary admitted, her voice breaking a little. "I used to wish he was still alive. Be careful with what you wish for."

"Hey, don't think like that." Nora intervened, hating to see her twin sister so troubled. "Come on, you can't really blame yourself for what is happening now. Things just got a little out of hand, and that's to put it mildly. You wanna blame someone, blame Valentine."

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but Nora's right. This isn't your fault." Jace said, levelling her a firm look.

"This is all our fault." Clary argued, cocking her head to the side.

"Jeez, thanks!" Nora shot back, rolling her eyes. "I really wasn't feeling the guilt, until now."

"Excellent. He's home." Isabelle declared, typing something on her phone with a pleased smirk plastered on her red lips. "I'm out of here!"

"Wait, aren't you coming with us?" Clary inquired, turning to look at the raven-haired beauty.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world, but I gotta find out how to get into the vampires' lair." Isabelle answered, turning around to start walking away from the group.

" _Find out how to get into the vampires' lair_ , uh? I've heard people calling it many names before, but that is the most original one up until now." Nora smirked, knowing exactly what and _who_ she was going to do. Before leaving the institute, Isabelle confided in Nora and told her more about Seelies and a specific one named Meliorn. To most people, Izzy would have kept it a secret, but she had some sort of feeling, something that told her that Nora was trustworthy. Of course they laughed among themselves, given the fact that the raven-haired girl wasn't exactly shy when it came to her sexual life, but her stories were very entertaining. Nora appreciated it a lot and she was happy because Izzy already trusted her enough to share something as personal as that. "Have fun!"

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Jace added with a sly smirk.

"Of course!" Isabelle responded with a soft chuckle before disappearing in the darkness of the cemetery.

"Jace, over here!" Alec called.

"Yeah, coming!" Jace answered as he leaned forward slightly, his eyes glued to Clary's. "Are you gonna be alright?"

Clary gulped nervously, incapable of looking away from him. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just, uh, just give me a minute, okay?"

Jace nodded and smiled softly. Nora observed the scene with curious eyes, her arms folded across her chest. She hadn't known Jace for long and she didn't know much about him, but she could tell that this was something unusual for him. He wasn't used to harboring so many feelings towards a girl. "Alright." The blonde boy stalked off towards his best friend, leaving a somewhat dazed Clary behind. Oh, she was falling in love with him already.

"Careful there." Nora warned her sister, sauntering closer to her.

"What do you mean?" Clary asked, offering her a blank look.

"I see the look in your eyes when you look at him." Nora answered, a small smile crawling out of her soft lips. "Be careful with that."

Clary laughed nervously. "I have no idea what you're talking about right now, Nora."

"Right, of course. You know, when I don't want to admit something, I usually like to play dumb. Turns out you do the same thing." Nora sneered, the smirk never abandoning her lips. "Still, I wouldn't worry too much. Based on what I've seen, he's into you as well." Clary shook her head with a smile, unconsciously searching for Jace as she glanced around them. The redhead didn't need to admit anything, because it was simply obvious, she wasn't even good at hiding it. "But, uh, now, on another matter, I think we're gonna have to talk about Valentine one of these days, Clary."

Her smile immediately vanished and was replaced by an angry frown. "There's nothing to talk about, Nora. Valentine is not our father. Not really. We have his blood, but nothing else. He doesn't care about us, he only cares about power."

"I know that." Nora sighed.

"He would hurt us both if it meant he would get the Mortal Cup for himself." Clary stated. "He's not our father."

"Trust me, Clary, I know! It's just, uh, I wish mom had been truthful to us." Nora admitted, suddenly finding her own feet very interesting. "Our lives are messed up beyond repair now. I mean, look at us. We're standing in a churchyard, in the middle of the night, and we're going to rob a grave that contains weapons, so that we can kill the vampires that kidnapped our best friend. How often do you get to say something like that?"

"Yeah, I know, right? Who would've known?" Clary inquired, her voice barely above a whisper.

"The only good thing is that we're going to save Simon!" Nora added, trying to keep things quiet. "And I might get to stab a few vampires, so there's that."

Clary snorted, cocking her head to the side. That was when she saw it, placed only a few meters away from where they were standing. "Mary Milligan..."

"What?"

"There." Clary mumbled, pointing towards the grave in question.

"Oh, right. Mary Milligan!"

Clary rushed in the direction of Mrs. Milligan's grave with her twin sister hot on her heels. The redhead bent down and ran her fingers across the worn out letters engraved on the cold stone, sighing in relief. "Jace! Alec! I think I found it! Mary Milligan!" The boys immediately came running, both of them looking quite angry with one another. "Beloved servant? Who wants that on a headstone?"

"Someone who is in service to a cause greater than themselves." Alec pointed out.

"At least she is now." Jace concluded. "Abracadabra."

"Wait, you people actually say that?" Clary asked.

"No, Clary, we don't."

While Nora scoffed under her breath, Clary glanced away with an embarrassed grimace on her face. After removing the old leaves accumulated on top of the grave, Jace ran his stele across the symbol carved on the stone, unlocking it. With Alec's help, they moved the upper part to the side, revealing the cache of weapons hidden inside. And yet, there was no sign of Mary Milligan's rotten bones. "Wow! Where's Mrs. Milligan?"

Jace opened the box and Nora immediately grabbed one of the seraph blades, its light automatically went on when she touched it. Her eyes gleamed with a strange excitement, as if she felt herself connecting with the sword in her hands. "Don't touch that. You don't know how to use it."

"Who cares? I'm a fast learner." The blonde girl shot back, throwing him a dirty look.

"You're gonna hurt yourself or somebody else." Alec insisted.

Nora rested the seraph blade's tip against his chest, narrowing her eyes at him. "If I hurt somebody else, might as well be vampires, or demons."

"Don't worry about it, Alec." Jace chimed in, a devious smirk plastered on his lips. "I'm sure you'll show her the right way to use it."

Clary and Nora eyed each other, both of them having the exact same thought. Jace winked at him, while Alec seemed very shocked and taken aback, not knowing how to respond to that. After all, he knew that Jace's words had a double meaning. "Right, well, yeah, I, uh-"

"Do you see what you need in here?" Jace interrupted, looking quite amused by his best friend's awkwardness.

"No." Alec drawled, furrowing his brow. "Uh, there's no bow here. And I need one. I have to rune some arrows. That's back at the Institute, so I gotta go."

"Well, how are you gonna get back in the Institute?" Jace inquired, pressing the matter even further.

"Go in the back." Alec replied, meeting Nora's gaze for a moment before glancing away. "Won't bother me if I'm alone."

"Will they bother you if I go along?" Nora questioned, not moving from her spot.

"Probably."

"Well, you still have to teach me how to handle the blade." Nora commented, her face clear of any sort of emotion.

"Jace can teach you. I don't have the time right now." Alec muttered with a roll of eyes.

"I already have my hands full with Clary." Jace answered, not really thinking about his words.

"Yeah, I bet you do." Nora mumbled with a sly smirk.

"Fine. You can come with me." Alec finally gave in. Nora's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she nodded nevertheless, satisfied with his answer.

"Alright, you guys go." Jace said, his expression suddenly turning quite serious. "Clary and I can finish up here."

Clary grasped a seraph blade and eyed it with curiosity, while Nora stood back a little, watching as Jace and Alec spoke in hushed tones. Whatever were the disagreements that they had had previously, it already seemed forgotten. It became clear to Nora how much Alec truly loved Jace, it was almost as if he were his real brother. It was actually admirable how loyal they were to each other, despite their many differences. The blonde girl approached her twin sister and threw her arms around her, offering her a quick hug. "I'm actually leaving because I can't bear to play the third wheel with you two." Clary laughed and shook her head. "No, seriously." Nora stopped smiling and eyed her sister with loving eyes. "Be careful. Stay safe."

"Will do." Clary answered. "I will be fine, don't worry about me."

"Yeah, I know." Nora gulped nervously, clearing her throat. "And I know that Jace will protect you."

"Yeah, he will." Clary agreed, her green eyes trailing over the two boys as she saw them hugging each other. "I love you, Nora."

"I love you too, Clarissa." Nora smiled honestly, planting a small kiss on her twin sister's forehead before tucking a curly strand of red hair behind the girl's ear. Clary could be very annoying at times, but Nora's love for her sister was unconditional and indestructible. They came into the world together, and there was nothing that could ruin their bond. "Now, behave. Just because I'm leaving you with a boy-"

"Nora, don't you start." Clary immediately cut her off, an amused smirk gracing her lips.

The blonde girl leaned closer to her twin sister, bringing her lips to Clary's ear. "I'm joking. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Let's go." Alec declared, starting to walk away.

Nora threw one last mischievous smile towards Clary's way, before she ran after Alec. Jace and Clary stood back a little, watching as the odd pair disappeared in the darkness of the graveyard. Jace had to give it to Nora, he didn't know what she was doing to Alec, or how, but she managed to capture his interest in a way that no other girl did, and that didn't happen very often. In fact, it didn't happen at all. The Fray sisters truly were something else.

"Look, I don't want to stand in your way, but somebody should really teach me how to defend myself." Nora uttered, trying to read Alec's expression.

"Why me? Izzy would gladly help you. Jace would too." Alec pointed out, avoiding her burning gaze.

"You are... very skilled." Nora managed to say.

Alec's eyebrows shot up in skepticism. Obviously, there was something more to it. "Right."

"Alright, if it bothers you that much, I can always ask Izzy." Nora murmured as she tugged at the black leather jacket that the raven-haired girl had lent her. "But it is kind of urgent, and your sister is _very_ busy right now. And Jace... well, you heard him. He's got his hands full with my sister."

"So I'm your last option." Alec concluded.

"Actually, you were the first." Nora answered honestly.

Alec seemed to ponder about her words, her voice echoing in his mind before it truly dawned on him. Nora hadn't even considered asking Izzy or Jace, though he knew that they would both help her if she asked them. She wanted _him_ to be the one teaching her how to fight properly. "Fine. I will teach you."

"Now, that's more like it." Even though he could barely see it in the dark, Alec knew that Nora wore a satisfied smirk on her lips. "I knew that if you went alone, you'd have to walk all the way back to the Institute. We'll get there faster if we take Simon's van." The blonde girl walked ahead of him and wiggled the human boy's keys in her hand, shooting the raven-haired boy a sly smile. "Come on, now, I'll drive."

* * *

Nora watched Alec carefully as he ran his own stele up and down across an arrow until he made sure that it was good for him to use against the vampires. She couldn't stand there and simply watch him, so she focused on the weaponry displayed in front of her. Her sleek fingers touched a sword very lightly, while her icy blue eyes gleamed intensely. Nora almost ached to get her hands on that thing, which was odd, due to the fact that she had never dealt with swords or blades before in her life. Perhaps it was her inner Shadowhunter finally making herself visible, or maybe it was the mere knowledge that the sword was a beautiful and deadly weapon.

"You know, in the _mundane_ world, people really love vampires." Nora murmured, cocking her head to the side.

"And you?" Alec questioned, not even daring to look away from his arrows.

"Not really." Nora answered with a low voice. "And right now, I'm more into killing them."

"It's going to be your first time up against any kind of Downworlders." Alec pointed out, shrugging his shoulders. "Pandemonium didn't count."

"Right. You kind of saved my life back there." Nora said, smiling to herself as she remembered how they first met. "Hey, can I keep this one?"

Alec turned to the side and narrowed his eyes at the blonde girl. "What?"

"The seraph blade." Nora clarified. "I would like to keep it."

"It's not a toy." Alec grumbled, dropping his arrows on the table to approach Nora and snatch the sword away from her. She pouted and whined, rolling her eyes at him, since she knew that it would annoy him beyond comparison. "It's _not_ a toy, Nora."

"Look, I know that!" Nora said through gritted teeth, trying to keep her voice down. "I won't treat it like a toy. I promise you."

Alec glanced around them, making sure that no one was watching. Unconsciously, he took a step closer to her, while his eyes studied her expression with great care. Quite reluctantly, the raven-haired boy handed the seraph blade back to Nora, and sighed internally, thinking that maybe he would regret it later. She saw how he fought a battle within himself, trying to decide if he should give it back to her or not. Until he decided he would. Nora smiled gratefully at him. "We don't have the time to practice. I can only teach you the basics right now."

"I know how to hold it." Nora rolled her eyes. "I mean, it's not that hard."

"Clearly you don't." Alec snorted, moving to stand behind the blonde girl, his hand gluing itself to hers. "You're not doing it right. You need to be secure, confident, when you hold it. You have to be the one in control." Nora nodded understandingly, her whole body tingling and shivering as his skin touched hers. If Izzy or Jace had seen them right then, they would have had a stroke. Alec had never been that physically close to a girl in his life. Surely, the raven-haired boy practiced fighting with his sister all the time, but it could never be compared to something like that. Nora could feel his hot breath on the skin of her neck, and it scared her immensely how she enjoyed the feeling. "You have to be firm with it."

Alec's hand remained pressed against hers and, with his help, she swung it a few times. She could feel his energy connecting with hers, along with the blade. Nora turned her head sideways, focusing on the look in his eyes. "You mean like this?"

"Exactly like this."

"I thought it was harder." Nora mumbled quietly, stepping away from him to work on her own. Alec's eyes gazed down at the blonde girl, admiration and surprise written all over his face. In that moment, he was finally able to see that she truly was meant to be a Shadowhunter. Her movements weren't very precise yet, but if she had the proper training, she would become very dangerous, and very skilled.

"Alec." A male voice rang out. The raven-haired boy and the blonde girl twirled around immediately, both taken aback by the unexpected presence of Hodge Starkweather. Nora frowned in mere confusion, due to the fact that she didn't recognize the man, but Alec's eyebrows shot up in surprise and panic. They had been caught. "I didn't know you were here, with..."

"Nora Fray." The blonde girl revealed, offering him a sharp nod.

Hodge sighed heavily as he acknowledged who she was, while Alec struggled to find the proper words to say. "Yeah, no, I, we, uh-"

"Don't tell me." Hodge cut him off, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't wanna have to report you two."

Alec swallowed thickly. "It's just that, you know, Nora and Clary are-"

" _You_ , and your sister, you're both Valentine's..." Hodge glared sharply at Nora before he let out a muffled growl of affliction. Carefully, he pressed his hand against his neck and tried to suppress the waves of pain that the rune on his neck caused. "You two are the monster's daughters."

"Valentine's our father, that's true, but Clary and I were raised by our mother." Nora answered with a cold tone. "And she is nothing like him."

"I know." Hodge nodded slowly. "Jocelyn was one of my best friends."

"Then you should know we are not the enemy." Nora glowered at him with stormy, angry eyes.

"But there must be some reason why the roaches are coming out of the woodwork again, right?" The older man pointed out as he looked over the blonde girl with interest. Surely, it was obvious that Clary and Nora were nothing like their father, but even then, Nora had an explosive temper that could, in some ways, be compared to Valentine's. Of course, she would never do all the monstrous that he did, but she certainly was an unpredictable young woman. And yet, Nora still took after her mother in plenty of manners, especially when it came to protecting the ones she loved. She would lay down her life for the right people, and despite sometimes fighting against it, she wouldn't surrender to darkness like her father had done. In that precise moment, Hodge could see what Nora Fray was really all about. She was not a threat to them. It was quite the opposite, in fact. "Anyway, I'll leave you two to it."

"Hodge?" Alec called, forcing the man to face him. "Thank you."

Hodge offered him a small smile. "You remind me of me, Alec. A loyal friend standing in the shadow of the chosen one." Alec shook his head a little, certainly not agreeing with the older man's words. "Hey, don't make the same mistakes I did. Look where it got me."

Having said that, Hodge went on his way and left them both behind. Nora saw how the man's words affected Alec, and it worried her, for some reason. "He is wrong, you know? You are _not_ standing in anyone's shadows, Alec. You're your own person. I hope you understand that."

Alec gave her a quick nod, avoiding her burning gaze. "I do."

"Good." Nora smiled briefly. "Now, we should probably get going, shouldn't we? Are you done with your arrows?"

"Yes."

"Awesome. Let's go."

"There's still something we have to do." Alec drawled, forcing her to stop in her tracks. "You need new runes."

"Why?"

"We're going to the Hotel DuMort, and vampires have super hearing." Alec declared, approaching her slowly. "Hand me your stele. I'll draw it."

Nora took off the leather jacket and sat down on the table, grasping the stele that her mother had presented her with on hers and Clary's birthday, and handed it to Alec. "So, it's a rune for being silent, I'm guessing."

"Yes, it is."

"Is it going to hurt a lot?"

"I'm going to burn your skin." Alec answered with a dramatic roll of eyes.

"Well, that's lovely." Nora sighed with a low voice. "Go ahead, I'm ready for the pain."

"Where do you want me to draw it?"

"Right shoulder."

"Alright, just relax."

Clearly, she wasn't anywhere near being ready or relaxed, because she dug her nails onto Alec's arm when he started drawing the rune on her bare shoulder. She wanted to scream very loudly, but instead she let out a bunch of pained grunts as she tried to hide how much it truly hurt her. A few more painful moments went by, and then he was done with it. She took a deep breath and looked down at the burnt area. "Well, that hurt like a bitch."

"We're not done yet." Alec stated.

"What?" Nora exclaimed, her eyes widening considerably. "Please, tell me you're joking."

"Stop being a baby. I've drawn plenty of runes before, and I have many, too." Alec snapped at her. "It only hurts a little."

"Yeah, sure, that's what he said!" Nora countered, folding her arms across her chest. "Which one is it going to be now?"

"The Enkeli, it's the Angelic Rune." Alec explained, noticing the puzzled frown on Nora's face. "Shadowhunters are half-angel, which means _you_ are half-angel too. This rune is one of the first that Shadowhunters receive upon initiation, as it signifies your angelic bond."

"Alright." Nora nodded slowly. "Bring it on, then."

"Where do you want this one?"

"Left wrist."

Alec nodded and proceeded to start drawing the rune. Nora bit her bottom lip and shut her eyes, trying not to squirm in pain. Alec certainly didn't enjoy putting the girl through that, but she needed the runes urgently. And soon, in the near future, she would need more and more. When he finished drawing the Enkeli, Nora jumped away from him and rubbed her wrist with great care. "Alright, we're done here."

"For today."

"That's not comforting, not at all." Nora shook her head and put on the black leather jacket once again, very slowly, because her shoulder was still a little sore. "Now, come on. We have to save Simon."


End file.
